The Reunion

Over the weekend, we met up with some old friends who had come for a visit in Melbourne. Our little get-together was held at another friend’s house in Balwyn North since only his fortress-like abode can fit all 30 of us!

It was so good to see some old familiar faces and to catch up with one another. And since each family had its own little army of little people, the house was filled with screaming and running kids as well.

A few years ago, such a reunion of friends would see us chatting, drinking, smoking, eating, drinking, reminiscing, drinking, playing cards, smoking, drinking – you get my drift. Later, we’d probably go somewhere else only to indulge in the same things. And this could go on till the wee hours of the next day.

But these days, we don’t all get to sit down together. Some of us, usually the mums, will have to attend to the kids first, making sure they eat their dinner and are not fighting among themselves before having the chance to sit down and enjoy the meal and conversation. And when we all finally sit down to play catch up, some of the kids will barge in and demand some attention. Quite a struggle holding up a conversation when you have cranky kids pulling at your clothes and hair!

Naturally, we all become like Cinderella. By midnight, it’s time to hit the road and go back to where we’ve crawled out from earlier. The night is still young but our priorities have shifted to the young ones. So we reluctantly bid each other goodnight.

That’s what happened that evening. There was so much to catch up on but so little time and too many distractions. Still, the “party” was a blast. Wish we could have a few more of that every now and then!