Saturday Night

On Saturday night we went to the 40th birthday party of one of my oldest (as in longest known!) friends. I have celebrated his 18th, 21st, 30th, wedding and now his 40th with him. He and his lovely wife have seen me through my hardest and best times as well as just all the normal stuff. He is a good man and I am proud to call him my friend.

Soy was keen on a party that was reminiscent of our youth and had beer, fried food and friends and didn’t involve the kids that we all have now. It was kind of like that but rather more sophisticated, as the beer was boutique, organic and preservative free and the bar snacks were multi-national and weren’t served with tomato sauce.

It was the first time in a little while Gaye and I had been out together without the kids and we caught the bus into town in a way that reminded me of my young days out with Soy. Aunty Lou was our babysitter for the night and had a fabulous time with the boys - so much so she rang the next day to book us in for another time.

Despite of his wish to be kid free for the night the impact of our kid status and age was very present as (a) everyone arrived right on time and (b) most of us left by 11:30 to get home (for the babysitters).

I haven’t drunk beer since my last trip to Darwin about three years ago and the three beers I drank haunted me the next day. Gaye and I spent most of Sunday trying to convince the boys that quiet games would be good right now, removing ourselves off the couch and away from the newspaper only for a bike ride and a dog walk on what was a beautiful sunny day.