It is one of the most formidable values I was raised with. Right up there with the Ten Commandments and not running with scissors.
Simply, I am to never cancel a party or joyous occasion.
No. Matter. What.
The thinking is, life has so many challenges, that when joy is on the calendar, you must embrace, cherish and protect it.
When my mom became ill just days before my wedding, we did a lot of scrambling to make sure she had the best medical care, setting her on the road to recovery. What we didn’t do — what no single word even whispered — was cancel or postpone the wedding.
Even in her ailing state, my mother would’ve been horrified to hear any talk of that.
Instead, with the help of some friends, we Skyped her in. There was even a comical moment as my groom kissed this bride. My friend’s husband who was holding the iPad announced he had lost the Skype signal.
So, we redialed and kissed again! What a great moment!
Take sadness, mix in a little ingenuity, a dash of humor, and our joy was actually multiplied.
That’s why I’m still not over what I did on the first day of this newish year.
There we were, set to welcome friends over for a New Year’s Day open house. Talk about being ready for joy.
I was the only one who was spared from what turned out to be “Sicko Christmas 2014.”
Forget Elf on the Shelf. I was Nurse for the Cursed.
Between bronchitis, colds and stomach flu, I ended 2014 seeing bodily fluids come out places I didn’t know possible before I became a mom.
I finally took off my nurse’s cap a couple days after Christmas. Everyone was healthy.
I popped out of bed New Year’s Eve day all ready to make my brother’s Million Dollar Lobster Bisque. (He calls it that because between the lobsters, saffron and other ingredients, it costs about a million bucks to put together.)
Just as I was about to leave to buy my lobsters, I heard this sad, pathetic moaning from the bathroom. There was Daughter in full-blown stomach flu bloomage.
The hacking from upstairs told me Husband’s respiratory gunk was back in finer form than ever.
The Germies had not left our house. They had simply temporarily retreated.
No way could we have folks over in our festering petri dish of a home. And so I did it.
Took extreme measures.
Turned my back on my values and clicked “send” on the Evite cancellation.
There was no joy in that.
Relief, yes. Joy, no.
Well, not for me.
I’ve since heard there are four lobsters in the tank at the market that had themselves a heck of a party that day. My canceled party became their million-dollar reprieve.
Here’s wishing you a year of parties, joy and good health.
Your turn: What’s the party you were determined not to cancel? I’d love to hear. Email Daryn@DarynKagan.com.
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