RSVP

I'll give you the ending of the story at the start: teach your children to RSVP.

Today was the Christmas party for the social service organization with which I work. I love this group. We are on the ground making a difference in the lives of preschool children and seniors...working hard and not looking for recognition. THAT is what is important, here.

However....

I offered last May to have the Christmas party at my house. Good news...decorations are up and the house looks awesome. Bad news...nothing else is done. Volunteeroholics, heed my warning: do not, under any circumstances, offer to have a holiday party for any organization! You know how it is...no one has signed up, so you feel bad, and you put your name on the blank line. Don't do it in December. Take February....that's a nice, calm month.

Last time I had the group over was two years ago, and we had 60 people. That's a lot of brunch stratas. This time, the days kept creeping closer to the party with no indication of how many will arrive. We send out a monthly newsletter....it clearly stated that I was the host, but...an oversight of mine...we didn't say RSVP. We sent a follow-up email saying RSVP regrets only. Only three women did. So, with an organization of 35 active members and a list of associate members around 100, I had no idea what to expect.

So, back to the beginning of the post. The take-away is to teach your children to RSVP. We had food for 60 but 28 attended. Five stratas are going to the community center tomorrow for our seniors, so all is well. The kicker....my husband was so upset that I didn't keep one of the casseroles for dinner that I had to make another one for tonight's dinner. If I never see another strata again, I'll be a happy girl.