For years, a group of us has met regularly for coffee on Tuesday mornings at the local Martin’s Supermarket at 10 AM. Currently there are nine women who may or may not show up on any given Tuesday, depending on what else is occurring in our lives.
I think most of us try to avoid appointments at this time because getting together is more important than having your teeth cleaned or your hair colored during this hour and a half one day a week. I know I usually managed to schedule around this coffee klatch.
But this summer I’ve been missing in action at Martin’s for the past several weeks. There have been travels and house guests and – yes – unavoidable medical appointments, unless I want to wait four or five weeks to get in. I was MIA again at MIT today.
MIT is our acronym for “Martin’s Institute of Therapists,” not to be confused with Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The letters are intentionally the same for the sake of irony. But the ‘therapists’ part is very intentional, because what this group does best is be there for each other.
Every one of us is part of the sandwich generation. So we’ve listened to friends share concerns about their adult children and their aging parents. Concerns about our spouses are on the table as well. We’ve shared tips on everything from choosing a particular doctor to solving a simple sewing project. We’ve wrinkled our brows in thought and shared our words with discretion. It’s never been said, but everything is in confidence.
I must make sure I get there next week.
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