She sometimes gets a little, shall we say, wound up during the preparations, which often include selecting the tablecloths, plates, silverware, and flowers the night before. Not to mention menu selection, shopping, and the actual cooking. So, my job is be on call and to execute any instructions quickly and efficiently, which after thirty-three years as a couple, I can now do with admirable adequacy.
Part of why I'm so grateful for these gatherings - beyond the fine food - is that we've had some fascinating casts of characters at the table, over the years. And we've always made a point of including our children and their friends, which has given us the opportunity to have the kinds of conversations with all of them that I sure as hell did not have at my parents' table.
Now, as with all gatherings, the dialogue is not always witty and warm. In fact, there have been a few visitors whose presence became harder and harder to enjoy as the evening progressed. But overall the spirit of each get-together has been benign, and more often than not, affectionate. And aside from a few carving-knife mishaps, no blood has been spilled, to date!
I like to to think that each dinner party here has been a nice little outpost of Civilization. I hope we can have these for years to come, and I especially hope that our children take the trouble to keep the tradition going. It's a thought that makes me happy, even when so much of the future is in doubt.
2 comments:
Are those leaves in the dishes?
Those are paper cutouts of leaves, with people's names written on them - placecards.
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