Women Gathering Around Fondue, Laughter, Having Fun, Being Friends, I Miss It

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Today I met a wonderful woman who was in her 70s or maybe her 80s. She walked up to my table, started to pass, and I drew her back and asked if she didn't want taste some of my chocolate fondue. As she dipped a pretzel into the melted goo, she looked around at my brightly colored offering to the Goddess of Tupperware. She was there with her daughter and grandaughter. She began telling them stories about the Tupperware parties she had had many years ago and how she missed them. It made me smile to listen to her. I asked her if she had any pieces that were broken, warped, bent, or otherwise in need of replacement. She thought for a bit and then said, "Oh, honey, I'm sure that I do have some things that could be replaced, but if I do, it's not "acause anythin' went awrong with 'em - I just been usin' all my life and their worn away with age just the same as I am, and I couldn't be usin' you to fix that for me". I told her I would more than be happy to replace at least a few things for her at no cost - Tupperware does have a lifetime warranty. She then looked at her daughter and asked her when she had last gone to any kind of "home party", and her daughter said it had been awhile. I will probably get a "dating" from her daughter; but that is not the reason for this discussion. I want to talk about things as women we are forgetting. Especially something the elder woman put into words for me. I have written about this before, but not in her words. She said, "In the old days, we were all so busy, that if felt good to take a break and settle down with our friends and just get some craziness out with the silly games we played at the Tupperware parties". Then she told her daughter, "I know, you don't have time for that anymore. Imagine, we don't have time to gather with our girlfriends anymore. We don't have time to go to our friends' houses and sit for 1-2 hours, listen to a crazy woman demonstrate her products, eat a little bit of food, play some games, not have to think about the office or our children that are either being taken care of by someone in another room or have been left home with our significant other. We don't have time to help our one of our friends who really wants to have enough party sales so she can earn some FREE Tupperware, or jewelry, or Pampered Chef, or whatever product it is. We don't have enough time to volunteer at the closing of the party to say, "Well, sure, I can have one of these at my house in a month or so". And, by doing that keep that chain of friendship and womanspirit going on and on - adding new friends along the way at each party. When it is done in this manner, as it was originally intended, no one had to worry about spending a lot of money at one party. They knew that one of their friends was going to have another one pretty soon and they would have a "wish list" and be able to cross one more of the items off the list at that time. Please don't think that I spent all of the time at my Tupperware table. I did a lot of networking. I bought a great Pampered Chef Stone today and will be having a party in the near future on a Saturday afternoon. I also am returning an in-kind for a wonderful customer who sells BeautiContol Products and will be offering my friends to a Spa Evening in March. I will try to see if I can partner with a Cake Woman that bakes cakes and was at the table next to me - who knows what will come of that? Wouldn't it just be wonderful if we could put all of our advanced technology behind us for just a couple hours a month every month or so, and let what speeds up so much, slow us back down again - not too much - but just enough (I don't want to be Harriett to Ozzie again) - just enough to give us the true appreciation of just being fun and silly. The kind of fun and silly that you can't get when you stop for a quick coffee at breakfast, a hurried through lunch date, or drinks at happy hour. Your Sister In Love ~Donna