Happy birthday to me, Part 1

Wednesday night my friend Barb was going to treat me to a special birthday dinner before we saw Sister Act at the Auditorium. She chose the restaurant -- Trattoria No. 10 -- and made the reservation for 6:15. That would give us an hour to eat because the curtain is at 7:30.

She was 20 minutes late. She forgot my birthday present. We didn't make the curtain.

At first I was very hurt by this.

But then I got over myself.

First of all, it was really kind of nice to not be rushed. Instead of being out of there by 7:15, we were done dining a little after 9:00. I even had time to enjoy a fabulous apple crostata for dessert.

Secondly, for all that she can be thoughtless in some areas, she has proven herself a true friend in others. The most sophisticated of my friends, she never leaves the city limits unless absolutely forced to. And yet she drove the half hour to my mom's visitation and service and stayed for hours, even though at that point none of our mutual friends were there yet. She also made a generous contribution to my mother's favorite animal shelter in her memory. And Barb and my mom had never met.

And, last month, when I was freaking out about the funeral costs and afraid I'd lose my job, Barb made it clear that she will never let me starve. And she reiterated that Wednesday night: I can always get freelance assignments from her. She cares about me as a friend and respects me as a writer and if ever find myself unemployed again, she will use her clout to get me work. That's very comforting.

So I didn't get my gift and I missed a play that I didn't much care about seeing anyway.

But I had a delicious dinner (pumpkin ravioli) and warm conversation with a friend who cares about me and is there when it counts.