Walking on a sine wave

My first job out of college reallocated me to a small town in South Texas. I did not know a single soul when I moved but was welcomed with open arms by my coworkers, some of who were transplants themselves. C was one of them, a bright mom of 2 kids who was like a big sister to me. After a few months of daily breakfast tacos, the scale finally hit a number that knocked the scales of me 😝. I started on a diet plan and pretty soon C and 3 others joined our little group. We were the South Beach Diet Club and each member had a weekday assigned when he/ she had to bring breakfast, lunch and snacks for the entire group following the guidelines of the South Beach diet. We would meet before work at a conference room for breakfast and then again for lunch. I loved our little group and the fact that I didn’t have to eat alone. Plus the lbs dropped off pretty fast. We would talk about our day, our lives and discuss current affairs around the conference room table just like one would do at a family dinner table. Little did I know that with the career path I would take in the coming years, this would be the only time I would have lunch buddies at work.

A year or so later I decided to move back to Dallas, C got pregnant and others too got busy with their priorities. The lunch club didn’t last after that but the memories always did.

Last week I got a call from another lunch club friend that C was in town. 3 of us met up for dinner and just like old times, we had a homemade meal following the South Beach diet principles. Salad, spicy chicken meatballs, hummus and a small piece of whole wheat Pita bread. Of course with a BIG side of nostalgia of when such meals were a daily part of our lives.

I often think of those 3 years in South Texas and wonderful memories of the beautiful people I met. The border is now a very different place and I hope that things normalize again so others like me can also experience the richness of culture and warmth of folks in the border towns.