I recently had an entire Saturday wide open on my calendar.  No activities planned.  The house was clean.  The grass had been cut two days before.  Wow.  What to do?  I went through the usual list of ideas:  read a book, go to a movie, do some heavy housecleaning (that fell off the list right away!), call someone to meet for lunch.  Yes - that was the winner.  Hmmmm..... who might be available?  I really wanted to spend time with my friend Sarah.   But her husband likes to play golf so she may have to stay home to supervise the pre-teen kids.  And she often has a house full of guests on the weekend.   Her family usually drops by to bring lunch.  You see, Sarah has cancer, so she gets lots of visitors.  I assumed she'd be too occupied for time with me.  But, I decided it was worth a phone call. 

As it turns out, there was a house full of guests.  They were driving Sarah bonkers.  They'd stayed way too long and were wearing her out.  Her kids were gone for the day, and she wished she could just relax.  My phone call was perfect!  Fifteen minutes later I was on my way to Sarah's house to help her politely say good-bye to the guests, and then whisk her off for lunch at our favorite café.  Afterward we got pedicures, and chatted non-stop while we sat side-by-side. 
 
I'm thankful I made that spur of the moment phone call.  For me it was a perfect way to spend the day.   For Sarah, it was a treat in so many ways.  She told me she loves having visitors, but she wishes more people would remember she's Sarah.  Not Sarah with cancer.    She still loves doing all the things she did before cancer came into her life.  

 
Nancy B

• Saturday morning breakfast (just not too early!)
• Movie on a rainy afternoon
• Dinner when there's a 2-for-1 special! 
• Glass of wine on the porch late in the evening
• Take an evening walk