Tonight, I went to dinner with some friends. Not business acquaintances, but people I know well on a purely personal basis.

I’m in a men’s discussion group that meets every other Friday morning. We all met in our parish. We’re all married, have children, and pursue careers in business. So, we have much in common.

Over the years, the relationships have become very natural and full of ease. We joke around a lot. But, we also talk about serious stuff.

Periodically, we go out to dinner and just chill out. Tonight was one of those nights. It was my turn to pick the restaurant. I decided on Italian and ordered some Barolo wine.

As I’ve blogged before, I’ve noticed that it gets harder and harder for many men to have friendships. It takes work.  I find it’s easy to have “activity pals,” or to follow my wife’s lead and be friendly with the guys who are married to her friends. I find it’s harder to have my own “stand alone” male friends.

That’s why I’m grateful for my friends, and I really enjoyed getting together tonight with Dan, Andy, and Jim.