Let the Games Begin

We are invited to V’s brother’s house tonight.  Although V is 15 years older, his brother is his only sibling and they’ve become closer over the past few years.  And I got lucky because I really like his wife and she’s very talented–and willing to share those talents– in areas that I am not– such as gardening and cooking.

Tonight we are invited specifically to try a new board game.  We’ve never played a game with them, but I like Scrabble and Cranium and Scattergories and with some luck I might actually like this new game.

V just spoke to his brother–and he said we’re invited over to play the game but not to eat dinner—and we’re supposed to be there at 6 p.m.

For the sake of truth and family harmony, I need to state that they are not remotely cheap or ungenerous.  In fact, we have eaten meals at their home at least ten times more often than they’ve eaten here—and the meals are at least ten times better at their house.

If you were invited to my house at 6 p.m.– which is unlikely because I hate to cook and rarely entertain— but if I did, you could count on finding sustenance within your reach.  You could also be guaranteed that I would have spent hours, or even days—stressing about what to feed you.  And whatever I did feed you would be, if nothing else, plentiful.

My point—and I am ultimately getting to it— is:  How can you invite someone to your house at 6 p.m. and not serve dinner?  There’s no way you can mathematically structure a day without 6 p.m. hitting up against dinnertime—unless you’re 85 and living in a retirement home.

Maybe this is a perfect and timely example of the enormous chasm that exists between me and V–and the way we were raised. In V’s world, if we are invited over to play a game, the game is the purpose of the visit.  Food is an accessory.  Or maybe even absent.

In my world, every social occasion–in fact, most of life itself–is constructed around food.

I stew about this and then V talks to his brother who mentions that his wife is making her fabulous homemade fruit cobbler.  I feel much better–at least we’ll get  dessert.  Then I remember I am having a PET scan tomorrow and I can’t eat any carbs or sugar.

Daniel, V and I show up promptly at 6—with full stomachs.   My sister-in-law apologizes profusely for NOT serving dinner and hopes we understand that she wasn’t able to make one of her spectacular meals.

This makes me put a more positive spin on the situation—and in that spirit, I laugh and say to V– “At least she didn’t ask me to bring an appetizer.”

If you don’t get the joke, you didn’t read my recent post about appetizers which is called  “Loaded Questions.”

And now they take out the game and the game is called  “Loaded Questions.”

It was possibly the most fun I ever had playing a board game, or getting our families together.  And I highly recommend it.   Even without the dinner.