Our Book Club is an interesting mix of very intelligent
women. At one time, our children
attended the same public elementary school, Manhattan New School, or, PS
290. Now our kids are in college.
We get together about every five or six weeks. The book club was already in existence when I
joined in September 2004. A few members
have dropped out over the years and one or two have been added, but a core
group of 7 still meets regularly. It’s
always more about the socializing than the discussion of the book, since the
topics we discuss are generally more interesting than the book we’ve chosen. Tonight is no exception.
We meet at Penny’s. She
has a beautiful terrace that’s as large as my apartment. The city lights sparkle around us. For two hours we catch up. Our conversations tonight are not frivolous. We talk about aging parents, and how one
member’s parents may have to move back to New York, something they don’t want
to do. Another briefly touches on an upcoming doctor’s appointment that could result in cancellation of a
long-planned vacation. Another has a
child, a rising senior, who decided to blow of her junior year of high
school. What will this mean for her
college options? Another has a son who,
after his freshman year at a top college, wants to take a year off and find his
passion, or at least his lost focus. But
money will make taking a break impossible.
Should he be made to go back if he really thinks he’s not ready? Someone else is still recovering from a now ex-husband who, after a long marriage, decides to move out and then moves directly
in to a much younger woman’s home. Life
is full of surprises, and those surprises are not always good ones.
By the time we get around to the book, it’s almost 10.
That discussion lasts about 15 minutes.
I truly enjoy the women in my Book Club. The book itself is just the excuse to get together.
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