Growing up is a funny thing. Having grown-up friends is a very nice thing, and one I’m only now learning to truly appreciate.

This past weekend, our friends E.Mc and Kris came to visit, as they do a couple times a year. They live a few hours away — far enough that a day trip isn’t possible, but close enough that a 2-day trip is viable. Slumber party weekend!

We did a lot of fun things while they were here — we went to the Corning Museum of Glass; we went out to a tasting restaurant; we had Mexican on a whim in Corning (after all that glass, we were hungry!) We sat around talking about politics and nobody shouted or got hurt or called anyone names.

We did Christmas, too, which is also a lot of fun. I love watching people unwrap things we bought for them. And, let’s be honest, I love getting things, too.

Afterwards, I was feeling warm and fuzzy and motivated, the way I often am after they visit or we visit them — signs of a good friendship! I was also left with a pleased feeling of how smooth some things went.

That’s two meals out and an Event (which included four passes to make glass flowers). And now, we’re all grown-ups. So there was no question about who grabbed which check. We didn’t have to fight about it, nobody got stuck with paying for too much. It all balanced out.

I remember being in my early twenties going out to dinner at Friendly’s (an ice-cream and greasy-sandwich joint) and being at that stage where people were paying their portion of the tip with nickles and dimes; I remember when people would pay just their meal and not the tax or the tip on the meal, and someone else would be left picking up the difference. Once — the service had been pretty awful, but still — our tip ended up being a handful of change (on a fifteen-person table). The server ran outside and threw our change at us.

(I did mention the service was pretty awful).

It’s nice being a grown-up. It’s nice having a comfortable groove with friends, so nobody’s fighting over the check (whether it’s “you should pay” or “we should pay.”). It’s nice having our whole friendship move that smoothly.

When I was in my 20’s, I often referred to myself as a drama-vore, subsisting on drama. I’m pleased to be at a stage in my life where the drama is low and most often borrowed. It makes for a lot nicer slumber parties.

Also? Great food and nobody throwing our tip at us.

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