Dinner Guest #4 - E & J

She does hair.

He makes movies.

They are so much cooler than us. 

But, as fate has it, we get to be friends.

Our church has a program called Home Teaching.  Adult men, if willing, are assigned to visit a specific family once a month, share a spiritual message, and ask if the family needs help with anything.  A few years ago, Ryan was assigned to E & J.

This fun couple came to dinner Sunday night.  I fixed my usual Brazilian rice and beans and threw in a Latin dish called Ropa Vieja, a spicy shredded beef served inside corn tortillas.  At the last minute, I made friend bananas.  Before you say, "YUCK!" just try dipping a banana in egg, then roll it in Japanese bread crumbs, cinnamon and sugar, and pan fry it in butter.  Delicious!

For dessert, I unearthed the coveted box of Sees candies my father gave me for Christmas.  I knew that if I opened the Sees on my own, I would eat the entire box myself.  It has happened before.  Opening the box among friends, I was able to limit myself to three or four pieces of pure chocolate joy.

Not everything ran smoothly.  Kate spilled her entire cup of sweet, sticky soda on the table, placemat, chair, and floor before anyone got a chance to fill their plate.  The same floor I mopped one hour before.  Rock (3) refused every dish but the rice, so I quickly threw a strawberry Gogurt on his plate to stop the whining.

While I’ll admit all this cooking and cleaning is tiring, I’m totally enjoying the company.  Ironically, I have almost nothing in common with E & J.  E doesn't read books.  He once had dreadlocks and admits to having a problem with authority.  J's favorite food is hamburgers and she likes cats.  They both have tatoos.  I'm a book loving, rule follower with boring hairdos whose favorite food is sushi and I think cats are worthless animals.  However, I love that it takes no gigantic effort to have a conversation with either of them simply because they are interesting people.

While I suppose the Home Teaching program sent Ryan to E & J to help them, I think our family has benefitted much more from the association.

Friends are God’s way of taking care of us. - Anonymous