Thursdays at Borrelli's

One of the favorite pasttimes for women of a certain age is mah jongg. Every Thursday you can find a group of dedicated mah jongg players at Borrelli's Restaurant in Encinitas. Be there by 11am for the best table, the one in the front with the best lighting. You'll probably be playing with Helene, woman in charge, and player who always says "I've got absolutely nothing here", right before she calls "mah jongg".

Today I played for the first time in a few months and was happy to be back, although my mind was in Colorado, not Encinitas. Last night my first grandchild was born, a boy, and my thoughts were already a million miles away. I couldn't help but think about holding that beautiful baby. There were more than 20 women at Borrelli's today for an afternoon of lunch, mah jongg, and lots of talk.

The best part of the afternoon is a chance to talk to some wonderful women. It's like a mini therapy session. Each table of mah jongg is having their own conversation, trying to solve everyone's problems. Today, with several new grandma's present, there was a lot of talk about childbirth, names of children and weights of their newborns. It's a lot cheaper than therapy. Just $11 for lunch is a small price for an afternoon of fun.