Dinner Guest #18 - The D. Family

Like many of our friends, we met the D. family at church.  While we’re a few years older than Mr. and Mrs. D., our children are similar in age.  Subsequently, we find ourselves in parallel phases of life:  many hours spent at the park, the challenges of finding good babysitters, and a general lack of sleep.

This Sunday, we learned how Mr. and Mrs. D. met and fell in love.  They shared interesting stories about their siblings and one You-Tube famous dad.  Mr. D. even revealed secret details of his recent disappearance during a David Copperfield magic show. 

Unfortunately, four months into my experimental Sunday dinner tradition, I’ve become bored with my own cooking.  Although cheap and easy, I couldn’t bring myself to make Heavenly Chicken, barbecue pork sandwiches, or Brazilian fare this week.  I threw my grocery budget out the window and cooked an old, pre-children favorite:  Green Chili and Chicken Enchiladas.

I knew my children would absolutely NOT eat this dish.  It contained far too many flavors and textures foreign to kids—ingredients like onions, garlic, green peppers, tomatoes, cilantro, green chilies, and cumin. 

However, not wanting a complete mealtime riot, I tailored the rest of the dishes to please the children:  watermelon, fresh raspberries and blueberries, roasted sweet potatoes, and tortilla chips with hot, cheesy, salsa dip.  The D. family brought over a guaranteed winner:  coconut cake, chocolate cake, and ice cream.  Knowing that Jack (5) would pester me every two minutes for dessert, I cut him off at the pass and said,

“If you ask me for dessert, you won’t get it.”

Jack changed his tactics slightly and approached me every 10 minutes to say,

“Mom, I want something that starts with a D!”

We agreed to set a timer so he would stop asking completely.

Rock (3) was surprisingly exhausted.  Just as we sat down for dinner, he laid on the couch with droopy, sleepy eyes, and asked if he could go to bed.  All parents of young children know there is only one answer to this rare question:  an enthusiastic YES!!!!!!   

After tucking him in bed, I walked away from his bedroom hearing the red button from Staples call out,

“That was easy.”

After dinner, Kate and the D. family girls played a superhero/princess, dress up chase game.  Little toddler D. kept himself entertained by playing with my kitchen aid mixer tucked away in a cupboard.  The evening quickly came to a close as we neared our children’s bedtimes.

Although it has been several months, we’ve actually had the D. family over for dinner before.

Sometimes I wonder if in a dark, seldom-used corner of the public library there is an ancient, dusty book on manners that states,

After inviting a guest to dinner, you may not invite them over again until they have reciprocated a similar invitation to their home, thus, maintaining equal terms of friendship.

If such a law exists, I’m officially ignoring it.  I really like the D. family and I didn’t want to wait for a reciprocal invitation.  I’m not keeping score.  In the real world of Sunday dinners, I’ve discovered this simple truth:

There are people who host dinners and people who attend dinners. 

I’m totally enjoying being a host.