Dinner Guest #2 - Ms. J.

Our 60-inch round, glass-topped kitchen table seats six.  There are already five of us.  My son Jack (4) can do the math. 

We have room for one guest at our table. 

Luckily, we know plenty of single people. 

For the last several years, Ms. J. has been Kate’s (7) teacher at church.  Every Sunday, for two long hours, Ms. J sits on hard metal chairs with a class of squirmy kids during singing time and then takes them to a smaller room for a spiritual lesson.  Kate has come home many Sundays with rings, framed pictures, and other cute treasures to remind her of Christian gospel principles.  Kate loves Ms. J.

As I prepared the meal in the early afternoon, a few woe-is-me thoughts crept in and I wished I hadn’t invited a dinner guest.  I wanted to crawl in bed and rest my achy back.  However, like so many other situations in life, my anticipated doom was completely off base.  I’m glad I pushed through the negative moment. 

Having Ms. J to Sunday dinner was the perfect distraction.

Over a simple meal of crock-pot beef roast, mashed potatoes, cooked carrots, fruit salad and parmesan rolls, we got to know Ms. J. better.  She grew up in California.  She’s a retired school teacher.  She has two dogs and two cats.  She met her husband on a blind date.  She’s been widow more than 10 years and lives alone.  She likes pumpkin pie.

I felt honored when Ms. J. revealed that she generally declines dinner invitations to avoid awkward social situations, however, she felt comfortable with us.  After she left, that compliment kept my spirits up as I tiredly put my cranky boys to bed and started the dishwasher for the third time that day.

Thank you, Ms. J. for teaching Kate important life lessons and showing her love.