Recently, I visited my son, William. To be precise, I went to help him out. William decided to hang some new wallpaper and asked for my assistance. Naturally, I couldn’t refuse him.
I took some time off work and traveled to William’s place. He lives about 150 miles away from me. I arrived on a Wednesday, giving us a few days to finish the task. We were confident we could complete everything on time.
On the first day, we wallpapered one room, and the next day, another one. That evening, the phone rang. My son picked up and exclaimed:
“Yes, come over! Great! I’d be thrilled to see you all. Meet my new friends! They’re bringing the food!”
I asked, “Who are they?”
“Guests! Five of them! And we need to finish wallpapering this room by then.”
I was taken aback:
“William! What guests?! We don’t have any food! There’s only scrambled eggs in the fridge, and it won’t be enough for everyone!”
“Don’t worry, Dad! It’ll be fine! The guests will bring the food! We just need to prepare the plates and tea.”
I was very surprised. I was used to something else—when guests are invited, you buy groceries and cook plenty of food. But William said that, for them, it was different.
We had time to finish the wallpapering, shower, and freshen up. Then, William’s guests started arriving. Each one brought two dishes. Someone brought beef stew and dumplings, another brought potato salad and pies, and someone else brought grilled meat and a salad. William just set out the teapot, honey, and sugar. Turns out, for such events, William already had some disposable plates ready.
It was a splendid spread. Everyone ate heartily, and then we had tea. One woman started singing, and we all joined in. The evening was very joyful, familial, and heartwarming.
Afterward, each guest took their plates, and they all left. William and I only washed the cups and spoons, and we simply threw the plates in the trash. It took no more than ten minutes.
Later, I asked William who came up with this idea. He answered:
“We used to host guests the way you mentioned. But it’s so stressful and expensive. So we talked with friends and decided we’d meet at each other’s homes, and everyone would bring two dishes. The host only needs to prepare plates and tea. We started meeting like this, enjoyed it immensely, and now it’s a regular thing!”
I liked it a lot too. I shared it with my friends and acquaintances. But, oddly enough, they didn’t take to the idea. It’s a shame because I think it’s a brilliant idea.
They even refused to try such gatherings. It’s a pity, as I really believe it’s a great concept.
