Family Day Lunch

Our neighbours next door have 2 children; Hudson age 10 and Jade about to turn 7. We have gotten to know them through visits with their parents, and when they’re riding their scooters on the street. When I am walking Venus or Tobie, the kids always come over for a pat. They have a trampoline in their yard; their heads pop up over the fence when they are jumping. It has become a game. Pop up and say “Hi Sue” Pop up again and say “How are you?”

This past Family Day we were not doing anything with our family. So I asked the kids’ mother if Hudson and Jade would like to come over for lunch. Quite quickly she answered, “Yes They Would!” We sorted out the date – Sunday February 15, for lunch around 12. The day before the big event was Valentine’s Day. Both kids appeared at our door with home-made cards! pink and full of hearts in various sizes.

Suddenly the stakes for lunch went higher! How could we make it special? What should I cook?? After texts back and forth with the parents, we settled on spaghetti and meatballs with salad greens on the side. I bought a platter of fruit for dessert. Hudson and Jade arrived for lunch at 12:01, out of breath. Jade had on her Valentine’s Day skirt, all pink and fluffy. They settled onto the couch to watch some Olympics hockey while Peter and I dished up the lunch. It turns out that both kids play hockey a couple of times a week; Hudson on a team and Jade in a practice league. So far so good.

Lunch was served and we all sat down. Hudson dug into the spaghetti but Jade took one bite of the pasta and grabbed her water- in fact I hadn’t read the sauce label very closely and it turned out to be quite spicy. Oops! Fortunately Jade loved the salad, (with no dressing) and the meatballls, and Hudson had second helpings of the spaghetti. The conversation revolved around their classes at school and their friends around the neighbourhood. When we asked about the kids across the street, Hudson started to elaborate. “Well to be honest, I think that…” Jade jumped in. “Hudson! If you can’t say something nice, then don’t say it!” So much for gossip.

Then I offered them fruit and they both became distracted by something in the sun room. Apparently the fruit was not as enticing as my fitness weights. I have 2 pairs- 3 pounds and 1 pound. Hudson grabbed the 3’s and Jade took the 1’s.They performed some interesting feats of strength while telling us that their mom has “huge muscles. You should See them!!” Not wanting to get into too much family information, we moved to the living room where we played a new game they had brought: Play Nine- a golf game! Apparently Hudson plays golf in the summer.

We got through a few rounds of Play Nine and then switched to UNO, followed by Mexican Train. Then Jade asked if it was time for dessert. Since the fruit hadn’t been a success, I tried muffins, and cake. No interest. I couldn’t let this lunch end on a sour note. What could I do? Then Hudson came to the rescue. Did we have any chocolate? I wondered if someone in the neighbourhood had told him that Peter and I eat chocolate every night after dinner. Quickly I put our chocolate assortment on the table. They chose dark chocolate without nuts – healthy. Lunch was saved!

When their dad came to the door to pick them up, we told him they were welcome back any time. And we meant it.

Sue