Last weekend, I was invited to a roof-top dinner party. The hosts encouraged me — several times — to bring my 6 year old daughter and, hesitatingly, I complied. My daughter usually handles adult situations for about 20 minutes, and then lapses into a half whine/half groan state, where I am compelled to give her 100% of my attention or she’ll disrupt the gathering.
But this time it was different. She seemed to warm up to the other people, and she held her own in several conversations which did not even focus on horses or lions. Furthermore, in order to accommodate the differing points of view, the other guests generously alternated between discussing real-estate pricing and playing ‘telephone’ around the table. So everyone got a little of what they wanted, and no one felt unduly left out. My daughter listened quietly while condo fees were discussed, and the other guests sportingly played ‘telephone’ with the same enthusiasm as if they’d just played it yesterday, instead of 20 years ago.
At one point, the host disappeared with my daughter to the other side of the roof-top deck, behind a wall, where the dining table was. In her absence, I enjoyed being able to give the other guests my full attention. The minutes ticked by and there was still no sign of my daughter or the host. Finally, about a half an hour later, Rada re-appeared and announced that dinner was ready. She and the host had brought up food, plates, and other tableware to the roof, set it up, and served the meal.
I was amazed. How can I get her to do this for me every night… at home?
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