You learn some weird stuff about your parents when you go to lunch with friends of theirs. Or I do at least. On this day, I went to lunch with a couple my parents used to hang out with, among a huge group of friends, in Ohio 40 years ago.
My parents and their friends had parties or went out every weekend. The woman of the couple told me that they'd go out and stay out so late on Saturday nights that they'd all sleep until 2pm on Sunday. Then they'd call each other and meet for brunch or lunch or I guess sometimes dinner since it'd be so late.
Apparently my parents and their friends frequented the Playboy Club. The couples' daughters and grandkids were at lunch too and were horrified when their mom shared this information. One daughter leaned over and said to me "it's so embarrassing when your mom tells a whole table that she went to a place like that." I looked at her and said "well, she's saying my mom went there too, so I feel your pain."
Actually, I'm not embarrassed. I knew my parents went out a lot, had fun and had amazing friends. Sometimes I think of them as F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda, 50 years later. I'd expect nothing more than them going to trendy fun and cool places and if one of those places happened to be The Playboy Club then so be it, good of them. Shit, it was a t.v. show half of America was watching earlier this year...until it got canceled.
On this eve of New Year's Eve, I'm so happy to be reminded of my parents. My fun loving and in love parents, who were married 6 years before they had me. They got to know each other, explore, travel and have a blast before their kids came and then when we did, they made or lives full and rich and yes, lots of fun before they died. I wake up every morning with two holes in my heart, but these stories about my parents help get me through each day and for that I am lucky. I'm lucky so many people loved and cared about my parents and appreciated having them in their lives. I know I did.
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