Recently, I visited my son, John. To be precise, I went to help him out. You see, John decided to put up new wallpaper and asked for my assistance. Naturally, I couldn’t refuse my son’s request.
I took leave from work and headed over to John’s place, which is 250 kilometers away. I arrived on Wednesday. We had a few days to get everything done and were confident we’d finish on time.
On the first day, we put up wallpaper in one room, and the next day, we tackled another. One evening, the phone rang. My son answered and said:
“Yes, come on over! Great! I’ll be thrilled to see you all! Meet your new friends! They’ll bring their own food!”
I asked:
“Who’s this?”
“Guests! Five people! And by then, we should have finished wallpapering this room.”
I was shocked:
“John! What guests?! We don’t have any food! There’s only scrambled eggs in the fridge! That won’t be enough for everyone!”
“Don’t worry, Dad! It’ll be fine! The guests are bringing their own food! All we need to do is prepare the crockery and tea.”
I was very surprised. I was used to a different way: when inviting guests, you buy groceries and cook a lot of food. But my son said that for them, it’s completely different.
We had time to finish the wallpapering, take a shower, and get ready. Then my son’s guests started arriving, each bringing two dishes. Someone brought stew and pasties, another brought salad and pies, others had kebabs and side salads. John just set out a kettle, honey, and sugar. It turned out, John had already bought disposable tableware for the occasion.
The table looked splendid. Everyone enjoyed eating and then had tea. Later, one of the women began to sing, and we all joined in. The evening was joyous, familial, and touching.
Afterward, each guest took their own dishes, and they left. John and I only had to wash a few cups and spoons, while the plates went straight into the trash. It took no more than ten minutes.
Then I asked John, whose idea this was, and he replied:
“We used to host guests the traditional way, like you mentioned. But it’s so tedious and expensive. So, we talked it over with friends and decided to gather at each other’s places in turn, and everyone would bring two dishes. The host just prepares the crockery and tea. We started meeting like this, really enjoyed it, and now it’s a regular thing!”
I enjoyed it too. I shared this idea with my friends and acquaintances, but for some reason, they didn’t like it. It’s a shame, really!
They even refused to try such gatherings. It’s a pity, as I think it’s a fantastic idea.
