This past Thursday we arranged for a babysitter and enjoyed an evening with Paul and Suzette. We joined them for dinner at the Fish Grotto in Portland, which is an intimate little restaurant that seats about 40 people. Our server was friendly and diligent, and the food was delicious. Tami and I have not been going out much lately, with her going to be early and not feeling well all the time, so this was not only a chance for us to invest some time together, but it was also a wonderful chance to invest some very enjoyable time with Paul and Suzette.

After dinner we decided to walk the cold, windy streets of Portland in search of a coffee shop. Finding an open one after 7:00p can be difficult in that part of town, so we wandered into the Wild Oats to see if they had some coffee. They were busy and in the middle of some dinner promotion, and it was too busy to find a place to sit and enjoy a cup, but on our way out to continue our search we ran into Matt and Sara and the boys! They had eaten just up the street from us, and were getting ready to find a coffee shop themselves. So our eight-strong party headed a few blocks away to a Starbuck’s we thought might be open. Indeed they were open, and we sat in the noisy warmth of the ubiquitous roasters, enjoying fellowship, pumpkin lattes, and sweets.

It was refreshing being able to talk to a couple of other guys for longer than the few minutes before and after church services, and humbling to hear that some of the struggles and dreams I have are not uncommon. Matt and Paul and good men, and two I greatly respect.