Mrs. Lange is Scary When You Make Her Mad
Posted: November 23, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: DA Fall Formal 2 Comments
In the interest of not putting business out of business I am not going to name the establishment this story is about.
Yesterday was the Durham Academy fall formal. In a world where kids communicate through text and rarely have to sit in a dining room without their phone and just talk to each other, fall formal is a great opportunity to practice old-fashioned communication and interpersonal skills. Carter asked me to organize a dinner for her friends and their dates at a restaurant. I was happy to do that since I feel like the best way for people to get to know each other and be comfortable is over a meal.
I call the place Carter picked and left a message on a machine for the reservation as it instructed me to do. When I did not hear back from them I went into the establishment and spoke to a manager who checked the system and assured me that they had my reservation. We discussed at length the type of table and exactly where it would be. Since I am a regular at this place I was certain that everything would be all right.
The evening started with all the kids and their parents arriving at our house for pictures and the exchanging of flowers. In my ex-wedding director, ex caterer, not ex-bossy way I orchestrated this part of the evening with military precision. We got couple pictures, we got group pictures, we got silly group pictures, we got all girl and all boy pictures and everyone was still happy after all that had taken place.
As most of the parents were staying at my house to eat dinner a couple of brave volunteers slipped out with the kids to deliver them to the restaurant. I stayed home so I could finish cooking the dinner for the 15 I was serving.
After the drivers arrived back at my house I got a call from my panicked daughter. “They don’t have our reservation.” This was not how this was supposed to go. Fifteen year olds are not practiced at dealing with hiccups in the plan. I asked to speak to the manager who I had seen in person. There were no adults anywhere. Eventually Carter told me they were fixing a table and a manager got on the line with me to tell me it was all fine and he would take good care of them.
Emergency diverted. I went ahead and served my guests the yummy dinner they were getting. At 8:10, an hour and forty minutes after the original reservation Russ gets a text from Carter. “We have not gotten our food yet.” The plan was they were to be picked up at 8:20 to be driven to the dance.
I called to talk to the general manager. Needless to say I was not happy. I was not going to be paying for any of this dinner and we were going to have a longer conversation about it on another day. She went into see Carter and told her that the food was coming, which it did.
In the end the kids made it to the dance before the final locking of the doors at 9:00 when no one is allowed in.
So much for my drill sergeant like planning. The parents at my house felt bad that they had enjoyed a great meal that I had cooked. My plan of giving young people a chance to practice grown up behaviors without adult intervention did not go off the way I wanted it to.
The good news is that I heard the conversations went well. I had a neighbor who happened to be eating in the same place and said she saw and spoke to Carter and reported to me and Russ that all the kids were very grown up and polite. Next year I would like to have kids eat at my house, but I think the parents like that part so much they might object. Perhaps I need to do a training run with the restaurant they chose next year to ensure disasters like this don’t happen again.
Best Time is Around the Table
Posted: November 24, 2013 Filed under: Diet- comedy | Tags: DA Fall Formal 2 Comments
Last night was Carter’s first high school formal. Of course I would be the worst mother on earth if I actually revealed any of the details, not that I actually know any. But what was reported to me is that the dinner beforehand was the most fun part. I think that was because a group of Carter’s friends all went to dinner together and discovered the fun of spending time around a big round table talking and enjoying a meal together.
The parents had all gathered to drop the kids off at the same time to get pictures of the exchanging of flowers. The kids went into dinner some of the parents came back to our house to have chili and salad. Many did not know each other and it was a nice way for them to meet. At the appointed time a few parents went back to pick the kids up to drive them to the dance.
The after dinner mood was jovial and relaxed, a good sign for a group of ninth graders. While we waited for the cars to pull up the kids asked me to take a few more photos. I think that if the formal had just continued in parking lot everyone would have thought it was a successful night.
When I asked the young man who rode in my car how dinner was he said great, but he did not get dessert and was wondering if there would be dessert at the dance. I am sure there is never enough food for a fourteen-year-old boy.
To me sitting around a dining room table is the best place to really get to know people. It is more than a meal. It is better than a buffet where people can sit randomly. I feel like conversation at the table flows more easily and everyone is at the same eye level.
People don’t have dinner parties the way they used to which is a sad thing to me. It is really not as much about the food, but about the company. Russ and I often say we need to have more dinner parties and we get into a little rush of throwing them and then life gets in the way and we let off the dinner party peddle.
Now I think I need to throw a couple dinner parties for Carter and her friends. Dances are fun, but I think that young adults sitting around the table together is the best way to grow up. I hope that you and yours will enjoy some quality time around a few tables in the next week.
Less Dana, More Good 