Ladies Who Lunch

When we first moved to Brussels, one of the first tasks I threw myself into was that of making friends. We knew that for our move to be a good one we were going to need a support network. Being naturally outgoing and a wee bit on the chatty side, Troy ceded the primary friend-making responsibility to me. And, since I'm not currently working outside the home, it certainly didn't hurt that I have more time to devote to the issue than he. I'm not one to shirk my duties and within a few months, I luckily found my calendar full of coffee dates, book club meetings, French lessons, American Women's Club gatherings, museum visits, choir rehearsals, and of course lunches.

Troy is a wicked smart person and a very good husband, but he is not super great at listening. To be fair, when I'm involved there is a lot to listen to. At any rate, given his propensity for not really paying attention to all the details of which activity was happening when, I sort of developed a code word for whenever I was meeting up with a girlfriend to do something. If Troy would ask me what I had planned for the next day, instead of explaining I would just say 'Oh, I've got LWL'. The stereotype of the expat wife is being a Lady Who Lunches, and though the stereotype irks sometimes, I must confess that I rather enjoy the practice. At any rate, after a while of Troy hearing about all my LWLs one day he finally said 'Wow, that group sure meets a lot'. (Tee hee, he thought it was an association or an organized group!)

Perhaps you are wondering what a bona fide LWL gathering might look like yourself? Two weeks ago, I decided to host a St. Patrick's Day potluck chez nous and am happy to share one of the many recipes for a great LWL.



Take one table full of yummy food.



Add two cute babies.





Throw in a color-coordinated theme.



Add some good conversation.



Et voila! Food, friends, and fun.