The day after the party…
… is exhausting.
This isn’t just any party. It is a party designed around watching the Perseid meteor shower. We live in the country and have very low light pollution and a perfect view of the eastern sky. We have a lot of friends who love nature or are theater people and love any kind of show or love astronomy but live in well-lit areas or who just love a party. So, we invite people up, they bring food and drinks to share or they don’t bring anything but themselves and their helping hands. The evening starts off with setting up the food and the grills, cooking, opening various bottles and cans and the eating, drinking, introductions, helping others commences. The eating/grazing continues as long as people are arriving and bringing food. The custom is that it is rude to not “shark attack” any new food item that is put on the table. Mostly, the person who places it on the table is able to pull their hands back to safety.
Some people will set up tents or sleeping bags or arrange to sleep in the house on the floor or couch. Some will drink and be very happy but not safe to drive, some just want to fall asleep watching the stars, some just want to stay at the party as long as they can.
Each year, the veteran guests help the newbies settle in to the routine. No one asks about the people who came last time but seemed very uncomfortable. Some people are arriving for the first time and tell us they felt like they had come home. I can think of no more flattering remark or better reason to continue this tradition. The people who come here celebrate diversity and tend to be the fringe element. Walking from one end of the party (generally the kitchen) to the other end of the party (the farthest edge of the viewing/camping area) exposes the eavesdropper to conversations ranging from marriage equality to the inevitable consequences of dogs eating acrylic yarn to were the Lotus Eaters in The Iliad or The Odyssey? to what kind of wood is best for a woodworking bench.
People watch out for the dogs and the children and help with the food preparations. Many hands make light work. It takes a village. Dog is man’s best floor cleaner.
The cats are corralled safely upstairs. We put a doggy gate at the bottom of the stairs so that the dogs don’t go upstairs, but otherwise, they wander through the house, in and out with the people. Huey has been here every year. This was Mulder’s first year. Rebecca was here 2 years ago and Collin stayed home this year. The dogs and children are seen as equals by most of us but with respect by all.
Some people have to go home and can’t stay the night.
Those who stay will eventually fall asleep. I go to sleep when I absolutely cannot stay awake any longer. As people wake up, they pack up and leave or they get up and hang out and we have some leftover pie or baked yummies or fruit for breakfast. Coffee, tea, milk, water, oj are all available. Things usually wrap up by noon.
All through the night, my husband, who has a long history of successful parties, is cleaning up, straightening up, putting away, washing dishes, disposing of ownerless cups and plates and such. The next morning we get up when enough people are awake that we wake up. We stay up and socialize until the guests have all left. Then we sleep until we wake up. Time to clean and put away. We clean a little, look at Facebook, put away a little, let the cats out onto the porch for a while, wipe off the tables and fold them up and put them outside, sit down for some leftovers, and so on until the house is manageable again. It really takes 2 days to put everything back in order.
This year, one of the guests told me how this annual event is a marker for him — it ends the summer and begins the new school year. It’s a time to see friends and relax. He appreciates that we bring all of us together. If I had ever questioned the value of doing this, his words cemented my resolve to continue the tradition.
