A close friend invited my family and I to an evening garden party yesterday. It was to be an end of Summer evening party and a farewell and best wishes party to their daughter who will be going to the United Kingdom to complete her Master's degree at a wonderful university there. I had planned to bring the entire family, but yesterday, my own daughter was grieving the sudden death of a friend, and had a migraine, and my husband offered to stay with her. Two of my sons were otherwise scheduled. By the time the evening party began, I didn't feel much like going, but I felt it was important to support my friend, and so both my eldest son Adam and I attended. It was a lovely event. I am very fond of my friend's daughter, and she has earned such a wonderful opportunity. As exciting as living in Scotland will be, it will still be an adjustment, and it will take her away from her close friends and from her very loving parents, from her boyfriend, and also from her brother. Still, this is why we raise our children. They must go into the world, and make use of the opportunities they choose. Nights like these are like the gravy of life. They are celebrations of why we do, everything we do.
It was wonderful to meet my friend's daughter's roommates and her friends from the college from which she has just graduated. They were all intelligent, reasonable and gifted people, and speaking to them, I got a hint of the idea that the world might be in good hands after all. My friend is the consummate hostess, one of those rare people who is comfortable with all people, entertaining in all situations and also, what we used to call, "a hostess with the mostest." The food was not only excellent and varied, as were all the drinks, but the conversations and gatherings and music were so good that I wound up eating very little ! There was a disc jockey and good music, two large screen televisions in the house where people took turns watching their favorite teams playing football. There were also a couple of croquet games under way.
This evening was a reminder that as hard as we all work, we must make time for friends, for shared food and drink, for gatherings, conversation, and laughter, because over all, the entire journey is just too short.
