Whose Idea Was This Anyway?

This is about the time when I say to myself: Just whose idea was this? Translation-- a week from tonight will be our Valentine's Charades party, and all this week I will be busy with the preparations. So much to do...... no wonder we're the only ones hosting parties-- it's a lot of work.

I've got a to-do list that I keep amending with each party--- what to do one week before the party, five days before, three days before the party, two days before, one day before, and (finally!) the morning of the party. Following my list, and checking things off as I go, makes for a smooth party-night, without me being exhausted by the time the first of our friends rings the doorbell.

Used to be that our dear friend Frankie was always the first to arrive at our parties. I would count on that, and she'd keep me company while I did the very last-minute things. I'd be busy in the kitchen, and Frankie would make herself comfortable on the sofa in the breakfast room. I made sure to have the coffee urn prepared in advance, and the machine would have the coffee done half an hour before the party started, which was typically when Frankie would come up the walkway. She would give both my husband and I a big hug, then look at all the decorations, then she'd go to the coffee bar and help herself before settling down on the sofa. She wasn't a cup and saucer lady-- she liked a big mug. Frankie always said that cups and saucers were for the tea drinkers. "If you seriously love coffee, then you need a mug, child, and the bigger the better."

Every time one of our parties roll around now, Frankie comes to mind and stays there. It's been almost a year that she's gone, and it seems like just yesterday she was dishing out hugs and making us all smile. She was a remarkable woman. If there is a god up there, I'm sure Frankie is giving him/her a serious piece of her mind.