Providing Joy

"In combining beauty with comfort and liveliness, the Italians are able to provide the joy in life which their conquerors in the past, no less than their friends and visitors at all times, have found unfailingly irresistible." ~~ from Italia: the Art of Living Italian Style, by Edmund Howard

Italia calls to many of us in our over-worked, under-enjoyed west. Her laid-back attitude about life as compared to our industrial, achievement-oriented culture, her love of all things beautiful as compared to our love of all things efficient, utilitarian, and easy, her spontaneity as compared to our appointment-driven compulsion to 'get the most out of every minute,' her liveliness and comfort combined with beauty as opposed to America's love affair with mediocrity. Yes, Italia's Spirit woos me.

Yesterday Cassie and Caroline hosted a St. Patrick's Day Party for several of their friends. They could have dumped some salty chips into a bowl, poured some M&M's into another dish, boiled some hot dogs and called it good.

But they didn't.

Instead they thoughtfully planned.

Irish food? Corned Beef hash, Irish Soda Bread, Lamb Stew, all good but not quite right. "Potatoes. Don't the Irish love potatoes?"

"Yes."

Fifteen large russet baker potatoes carefully washed, nicked of blemishes, kosher salted, and tightly wrapped in foil baked at 375 degrees for two hours. The house smelled fantastic! While the tubers roasted we three women grated fresh cheese, cooked up superior bacon, unwrapped creamy fresh local butter, and plopped local sour cream into pretty red bowls. The first chives of spring were appreciatively harvested, chopped, and slid into a tiny pink dish. Organic carrots were stick-cut and set to chill. Fruit was delicately washed, cut, drizzled with honey and pineapple juice. Crystal kosher salt was poured into a Japanese tea cup with a shiny, tiny spoon, and peppercorns placed next to it in a crystal grinder.

The table was set with green and gold cloths, pretty plates, green baskets, pretty plants in colorful pots, and a tall green, tapered candle surrounded by freshly cut purple-blossoming rosemary and pink heather. Bowls of food, baskets of hot potatoes, plates of vegetables, shamrock bedecked napkins, and 'the good' silverware added to the gaiety.

Light-hearted Irish tunes played merrily as my daughters' guests walked into the kitchen and spotted the bounty. Joy! The girls grinned as their knives cut through the perfectly cooked spuds as through butter. Delicious fats and seasonings were spread and sprinkled into and onto the steaming delights, then fruits and vegetables carefully spooned onto plates. Art. Young women created perfect plates of food as they spoke their happiness. "I LOVE potatoes. Nice BIG potatoes! And FAT! And Fresh Fruit!"

Then, sheer contentment - even bliss - as they savored every bite.

Cassie and Caroline provided beauty in a comfortable, lively setting. For hours and hours these young woman enjoyed each others' company, relaxed, legs curled under them while relaxing in overstuffed furniture, or sprawled out on huge pillows under shamrock garlands. Friendship. Relaxation. A space of time separated from the harried life of a high school student. The world of decisions, and homework, and parents, and boys, and responsibility drifted away for awhile. Refreshment took its place.

We all need time to restore in order to continue energetically creating our lives.

Healthy foods served in beautiful ways amidst comforting surroundings with people who love and support us just as we are.

Providing joy looks just so.