Retired friends fixed breakfast here this morning. They are ten years younger than I and walk in the mall; then come here every other week. My job is to make the coffee. Their jobs are to buy and make fruit salad, and plan and bring the rest on the breakfast. They set the table and do cleanup.

When we worked together we gathered at restaurants. After I retired we wound up here. It was something to plan for and look forward to. A reason to clean the house. And we loved trying out recipes. Each Christmas a wider circle of friends would gather here and we would prepare the best of the recipes for that year.

Before they left Pal #1 brought three cases of Boost. She extracted the individual bottles from the packaging and filled my refrigerator with instant protein. Pal #2 opened a large can of chili and seasoned it with cumin. She divided it up into 3 ziplock bowls that I could manage in portions for my appetite. Pal #3 packaged leftover pastry and fruit for me. Pal #4 called to check on what she was missing while she vacationed with her 94 year old father.

All my life I have insisted on doing things "myself", but this pampering has its perks.