spring punch

My friend Barbara was having a party at her house last Sunday.  A Spring Shower.  Women from our church would gather at 4, bring appetizers and desserts, share recipes, talk, laugh and celebrate the end of winter.  It sounded like just what we needed!

 I found a recipe in Better Homes and Gardens for Spring Frocktails - a pretty pink and orange punch with juice and soda and sherbet.  Barbara had a punch bowl so I just needed to bring the ingredients.  I began brainstorming for the most delectable appetizer I could bring.  Stuffed mushrooms?  BBQ meat balls? Mini quiches? A savory cheesecake with crackers?

Sunday morning flew by and I still hadn't decided.  I waded through all the black and gray sweaters in my closet to find a floral blouse and a green sweater.  I was going to look like the first day of spring after a long winter.

I was on call for hospice all weekend.  There was a family meeting at 1:00 pm.  Then I would stop at the grocery store on the way home, make my food, change my clothes and get to the party early.  Plenty of time!

The meeting was right on schedule.  Thirty minutes and done.  Whew!  As I was driving out of the parking lot I got another call.  A family needed a chaplain 20 minutes south.  And then another call. Another patient.

At 3:15 I sat in my car in the hospice parking lot.  The party was in 45 minutes and 35 minutes away. I had no food.  I had no punch recipe.  I was wearing black. I contemplated driving off the nearest cliff.

And then an Elizabeth Edwards quote came to mind.  I think she was addressing people who had recently lost a spouse, or were being fitted for a prosthetic, or had just been driven from their homes.  But my situation felt comparable at that moment.  So I rehearsed it.

Resilience is accepting your new reality, even if it's less good than the one you had before. You can fight it, you can do nothing but scream about what you've lost, or you can accept that and try to put together something that's good.” ― Elizabeth Edwards

I decided to stop the rapid breathing.  I reminded myself that no one at the party was watching the windows in hopes that "Erin would wear something besides black."  I chose to believe that really anything can be an appetizer.  And I drove to the nearest grocery store to put together something that was hopefully good.

I grabbed Dole Orange Peach Mango juice, cherry 7-UP and rainbow sherbet.  I found a frozen loaf of my favorite brand of Gfree Rye and a block of dill havarti.  A tomato, a cucumber and a tempting selection of olives from the deli.  I threw the bags in the back of my car and sped across town.

Let's skip to the end.  The party was a blast.  Better than good.  Delicious food.  Easy conversations.  My little grocery store offerings looked pretty on Barbara's glass plates.  The punch was fruity and refreshing.  

And brown.  Oh yes, orange mango mixed with green and pink sherbet turns a very unspringy shade of brown.  We talked about ways to serve it in the future so we could enjoy the taste and not have to see it!

I drove home smiling.  Girl friends make everything seem better.  So does a dose of resilience, creativity and humor.  And getting over yourself.  That's a big one.  It's only punch...


The correct recipe for non-brown Spring Frocktails.
3 cups ginger ale
4 Tbsp grenadine
4 Tbsp orange juice
3 scoops orange sherbet