Dinner Conversation

Sharing a meal is about so much more than the food.

Don't get me wrong.  Our dinner tonight was very good.  There's just something about that particular mix of comfort food that is so warm and happy.  Turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, noodles.  There was a salad too, but  that wasn't the star of the evening.  Even the ten-month-old knew, it was all about the turkey.

In her 80's, my grandmother was the eldest of our dinner party.  (I didn't tell her it was a get-together, or she wouldn't have come.  But it's good for her.)  From there, we had a delightful mishmash of ages all the way down to five kiddos.  People from all parts of our lives---both work and play.  We were able to talk about books, farm animals, teaching, bicycling, camping, toys, the church call process, and more.  In a short two hours we were able to catch up on the big parts of each other's lives.

We had a large enough gathering that I needed all the colors of my Fiesta collection, which made my day.  There's something beautiful about all those colors mixed together.  As I mentioned to my friend, they even look happy when they're in the dishwasher.

I think the best part of today was being able to pull off an impromptu gathering.  In our culture, our calendars and planners guide us through our days.  Picnics and parties are planned months in advance.  And that's right up my alley and my four-month-at-a-time bulletin board calendar in my kitchen.  But there's something great about saying, "I want to have a party today!", and then doing it.

Thanks for the impromptu party, friends.

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(To all of you who wanted to come and were unable---I thought of you.  Thank you for the thoughts and messages you left throughout the day.  You were missed.  We'll try again later this spring or early summer on a weekend evening, with slightly more notice.)