December 9, 2019. Madison, Mississippi. Dinner at the Neighbor.

Just as we were driving away from the theatre yesterday my phone rang. My neighbor was asking me to come for a bowl of soup for dinner tonight. I was delighted because I like my neighbor Sandy but I do not see much of her. But she and her husband Archie are good friends. They spend 6 months in North Carolina every year so we only overlap a little bit in the Spring and Fall. Just when they were ready to leave to drive home, Archie fell and was unable to drive so Sandy drove all the way home. Since arriving home, Sandy has taken Archie to many doctor appointments. Every day there have been appointments while they try to find out what happened to him. He was lucky. No broken bones and no hit to the head but he was just inches away from falling down a set of 15 steps. They both came to the party on Friday evening with Archie using a walker and looking frail. My neighbors have a lovely home and I always enjoy visiting them. Archie had an upset stomach so just Sandy and I dined together, sitting in the breakfast room overlooking the reservoir. Except it was dark. What Sandy wanted to tell me was that they have decided to move to a smaller place, probably a condo. And she wanted to know how to proceed. We talked about how to select an agent and the questions to ask. But first she must begin looking at condos. Of course she has no idea of where she would like to live. Nothing will happen until the new year, which is not far away. To make things worse, today when she was at the optician she was told that she had the beginning of both glaucoma and macular degeneration, so she must deal with those issues too. I enjoyed dinner with Sandy. The home made soup and cornbread were delicious as was the Klondike bar for dessert. Unexpected invitations are a delightful surprise.