Stephanie is one of many UMF faculty and staff who is a member of St. Joseph's Catholic Church with me. Today I looked out in the congregation and she was there with Margaret. Margaret is NOT a member of St. Joe's and in fact, is a deacon at her church. After mass, I scurried out to the congregation to say Howdy and see what the special occasion was. Margaret and Stephanie had had breakfast with Margaret's daughter who was in town and therefore Margaret had missed her church's morning service, so Stephanie brought her to ours. It was fabulous to have such a great guest at our church!
We chatted about everything and nothing the way that good friends do and Margaret said, "Let's have dinner tonight at my house." And we all agreed to do so. Patti, a fellow choir member, came up to join the conversation as she and Margaret are good friends and she, too, wanted to know what was the special occasion that brought Margaret to our church. In that conversation, Pattie revealed to Margaret and Stephanie that today was my birthday. Suddenly our planned dinner was now a birthday dinner.
When I arrived at Margaret's, she had made a cake! That was not part of the original menu. I was honored. And the cake was delicious. And the meal shared with dear friends was indeed a special way to celebrate.
