The Irish bar cat
Yesterday evening I took the car to go out. My friends and I love to hang out in the Irish bar in town, next to the water and the courthouse. Even though it was dreary, I reserved a place on the terrace for us as I was the one to arrive first. Sitting alone, I watched the people slowly trickle in and fill the tables around me.
My grandmother recently confided in me she never went out to eat or drink alone since the death of my grandfather. When I asked if she wanted to, she quickly said no. She had tried once, she said, but after 5 minutes she got up and quickly went home. I asked her if she ever did go out alone when my grandfather was alive. After a bit of a thought she said no, actually never. I told her maybe it was a too big of a bridge to cross if she never did it in the past, maybe she really just did not like it? She hummed and went "maybe so".
I have not been somewhere on my own in a long time, but I know I have enjoyed it in the past. The unexpected lateness of my friends gave me the opportunity to enjoy some time on my own. I still enjoy it and it made me realize I need to do this more. Somehow, between the cleaning of the house, work and the time spend with your family, friends and partner it can get quite tricky to reserve a nugget of time. But as with everything, you need to try and balance it out I guess. Eventually my friends arrived and their presence quickly drove away the cold and drizzly atmosphere. We had a great time and the black, overweight bar cat sauntered between the legs of the tables and chairs only stopping occasionally to sniff the air. Two children kept walking behind it to pet it, but it always suddenly took a turn or twisted away under the furniture.
My grandmother was never lonely though, she is good at being busy and being on her own. A lot of hobbies en interests keep her occupied. When I think of her, I can see her sitting or shuffling around with the Tour de France on the TV, blaring loudly in the corner. Suddenly there is a change in the breakaway group and she perks up. She then exclaims loudly something along the lines of "55km before the finish? Not today, young man." or "Look at this boy, the climb has not even begun." or the more rare one "Those damn Englishmen".
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