“Let’s Do Lunch!”

We’ve all done it. Run into that person that you kinda know and after the polite chit-chat, say, “Let’s do lunch.” Yeah, sure. Not that we’re insincere, but women know that “doing lunch” is serious stuff. We can’t waste our lunch tickets for more superficial ‘weather channel’ conversation. No sirree. When females lunch, it is a flurry of verbs: reconnect, delve, repeat, expand, preface, explain, listen, giggle, laugh, cry, elaborate, and on and on it goes.

Now…layer that with a group of old friends, and the act of “doing lunch” is between taking a long hike and wrapping oneself in a warm blanket. It is crossing that great abyss of time and distance and being enveloped in a perfect hug. It is reaching across the table for a bread stick, and coming back with the last twelve months of that gal’s triumphs and trials. It is being able to leave gaps in the story, because they were part of if. Lunching with folks with whom you share a deep history, is recapturing the part of your self that time stole away. Lost your sense of humor? You will find it before the main course, because those pals are going to have you laughing to the point of leaking—either tears or well, lower tears. I mean, when the phrase “Do you remember the time….” is uttered, those old stories are going to come forth like great waves breaking.

“Doing lunch” is the going to and coming back. It is a reward for every minute you spent investing and reinventing that relationship. Sure, it takes energy, planning, and a bit of a commitment in showing up. But boy…the rewards are immeasurable. Our gender profile states that we process life verbally. True. And that it takes a posse to go to the restroom. Okay. But what we are really good for is making and mending relationships. So, the next time a dear friend utters that mandate, “Let’s do lunch!” don’t miss it. It is what we do–for them and for ourselves. Man cannot live by bread alone, and women must break bread together; this is what restores our souls and spirit. Lunch. Do it soon.