Question: What do you do when you are facing a shortened work week in which you have a strategic communications plan to write, a book proposal to reinvent, an out-of-town family bat mitzvah to attend, a triathlon to train for, a band to go see, two boys at each other’s throats, and a three day blog schedule?
Answer: You invite 50 + people over for spaghetti!!!
Yes, we are hosting our first Wednesday Spaghetti tonight for our neighborhood and a few special guinea pigs friends who won’t judge us when we do it all wrong.
For those MoB readers who are not aware of the MAJOR WEDNESDAY SPAGHETTI MOVEMENT across the nation, you can find it all here.
Wednesday Spaghetti was formed to increase public awareness of the need for families, caregivers, and peer groups to spend quality time together in an in-home, casual dining setting in order to discuss general life issues, household guidelines and practices, personal habits, issues, and goals, educational habits, issues, and goals, employment habits, issues and goals, family habits, issues, and goals, physical health-related issues, emotional health-related issues, spiritual issues, relationship issues, community events and resources, and other such topics; to support and conduct nonpartisan research, educational and informational activities to increase public awareness of the importance of togetherness, communication, and good nutrition; to provide simple to make, nutritious meals to any family or group in the community, regardless of race, color, creed, religious beliefs, ethnicity, economic status, or location at no cost to the family or group.
Inspired by Lora, who invited me to my first WedSpag, and egged on by Kristin who gracefully embraced the concept two weeks ago, I convinced Dave to open our happy home, break bread, twist forks, and sip wine with friends in a casual setting. The spirit is supposed to be relaxed and easy. And I am trying so hard to be relaxed that it is totally stressing me out.
You see I have been told by experts more Italian than I that there is no excuse besides a nuclear end of days to ever eat sauce from a jar, a piece of advice that I have gently ignored for years given my fear of pots and the fact that I am Jewish. But it echoed in my head during the entire weekend and thus, I broke down and made sauce. First time ever. I multiplied the recipe by 1,000 and I’m still saying Hail Mary’s. A huge mamma mia pot of sauce is sitting in my refrigerator and I am saying nice things to it every time I go in for something.
“Hello Sauce. Please be tasty. I realize I have been a saucy Jewish slut for my entire life, always going for the cheap and easy, but I promise to respect you from here on out if you work with me. L’chaim.”
I’m not sure this tactic is working so I am also making my famous brownies and chocolate chip cookies so even if I screw up the spaghetti (yes, I can), people won’t leave hungry.
Ultimately, I would love to do Wednesday Spaghetti once a month and have it be an open invitation. The premise is just so cool. So be prepared, once we have this down, no one will be safe.
