(Insert fortune here)...in bed!

SUNDAY, JANUARY 22, 2012 1:41 PM, EST

(Insert fortune here)...in bed!

Mama used to take us out to dinner for Chinese about once a month when we were little. Every month she took us to the same restaurant - Bamboo Garden. The staff from the hostess to the wait staff watched us grow up, and in turn, Mama watched them grow up and have babies. We ate the same thing over and over again, most likely because it was an inexpensive way to feed three children on a nurse's budget. It was an standard Chinese restaurant appetizer that came with a couple of spare ribs, a couple of wontons, shrimp, and beef skewers. It was called the Pu Pu Platter (yes, pronounced "Poo Poo Platter"), and it still makes me giggle to say it out loud (however immature that may be). Month after month, Pu Pu Platter after Pu Pu Platter, we expanded our taste for ethnic food. Honestly, I couldn't have cared less what was in the Pu Pu Platter, as long as I got my fortune cookie at the end of the meal. 

And so began my love of cookie fortunes. I keep them now when I feel they are applicable to life. They are on a peg board in my office at work - a simple reminder of what the future holds..."a new journey will change your direction in life." Or perhaps a reminder that I have everything I need, just a phone call away..."friends are closer than they appear."

I have admittedly placed the phrases "in bed" or "with no pants on" at the end of a fortune to entertain a group at a sushi dinner. There's no shame in a little entertainment. But I secretly have hated that game because it somewhat ruins the fortune for me. And yet, I cannot remember the last time I opened a fortune and didn't think, "...in bed!" 

Yesterday I posted about Pollyanna, which was followed by a resounding reminder from my sister Tiffany who said, "GIVE IT TO GOD." And give it to God I did. Nathan and I took a break from stress last night and joined our first Louisville friends, BFs Kerrie and Nick, for dinner. I read that reminder from Tiff on the way to the restaurant, and silently gave it to God.

We met Kerrie and Nick at the YMCA just a month after we moved here. Logan was 8 months old, and Nathan and I decided he needed to have some exposure to the water. We enrolled in swim lessons at the YMCA down the street.  There were several parents and children in the class, but one couple looked like the kind of people we would have things in common with. We left swim lessons, and I told Nathan that we would both go to the YMCA the following week dressed for the pool, but whoever stayed out of the pool needed to come home with a phone number. We had been in Louisville for a month, and we needed to make some friends. 

The following week, Kerrie was in the pool, so I jumped in with Logan. Nathan was aware of the expectations. Kerrie and I spoke a little during swim class, and Nick and Nathan had good conversation about snowboarding and wake boarding. So when we got into the car, I asked Nathan excitedly if he got the number. I will never forget the feeling I had when he said, "Tina, do you know how awkward it was going to be for me to get a grown man's number?!" I understood. 

The next week was the last week of swim lessons. We all went to lunch afterward, and we've been connected ever since. As it turns out, Kerrie and Nick were married at the same resort in Mexico where we were married...just one month earlier. Kerrie has also been hit by a car. Neither of them are from Kentucky. Their son is 10 days older than Logan. We continued the trend, and their daughter is 5 weeks younger than Parker. We have an enormous amount of fun together, and we love having them so close. 

So dinner last night was a nice break from reality. We ate at Louisville's Napa River Grille - a place that is known for its Tomato Soup (topped with a puff pastry over the top) and Caesar Salad served in a parmesan crust bowl, as well as their steaks. Nathan ordered a Pad Thai - interesting choice I thought, given the specials. But I, too, love a good Pad Thai. Nick had the pork tenderloin, Kerrie had the salmon, and I had an Ahi Tuna special. Dinner was wonderful, and the company was fantastic, but something special happened last night that I feel compelled to share. Nathan's Asian-themed dish earned him the only fortune cookie at the table, and I do love a good God-wink. It read, "Happier days are definitely ahead for you. Struggle has ended." Without paying attention to the words I had heard, I ended it with "in bed!" which earned itself a good laugh...and then beep, beep, back up the truck! "WHAT did that say?" He read it again, slowly. And in that moment, fortune in hand, my husband and a couple of great friends by my side, I felt relief.

Praise God.