Each month a group of women get together at a restaurant or on special holidays at the lakeside home of SD, one of the ladies.
I’ve missed the Ladies Lunch many times this year but was determined to join them at the lakeside house.
No matter the time of year SD’s house is fabulously decorated. There’s one wall full of unusual serving trays. For this December lunch the house glowed with twinkle lights, Christmas decor, two tables set with adorable miniature trees, elves and enough charm that could make one forget to eat.
Thirteen of us showed up with White Elephant presents in tow. In past years many of the presents were on the naughty side. Being one of the youngest of the group (ages run from 70-over 90), I was flabbergasted over just how naughty the older women could be, and how hard we all laughed.
I remembered a family Thanksgiving dinner where my grandkids got a bit raunchy and when I joined in I was met with groans of “Mom!” “Grammie!”
What? They expected me to be some silent elder? Take a seat at the table but don’t open my mouth? They should be a fly on the wall at our Ladies Lunch! See how real women have fun.
Funny how the younger generations don’t remember or don’t know who their elders are, or were. There’s a cartoon floating around of women dressed in mini skirts and thigh-high boots, tops with no bras, with a caption that reads something like, “This is how your grandmothers dressed!”
One of my mother’s older cousins went on a trip around the world when she was 40 years old, in 1940, with a girlfriend. I had a picture of her riding a camel in Egypt. She told me of the time they were at a restaurant in Austria, when a soldier asked the women if they’d like to join them the next evening at a Biergarten. Cousin Mary shook her head and said no before her friend said yes. Later Cousin Mary said to her friend. “Did you see the swastika pin on his lapel?”
Their parents begged them to hurry back stateside.
I wish I had spent more time with my older relatives asking them about their youth but then that seems how it always goes…too late for more questions.
A few days ago I received a call from one of the Ladies Lunch women. She asked how I was.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because almost everyone came down sick after the lunch,” she said as she listed the names.
“Food poisoning?” “Covid?” I asked. “The flu?”
They had flu/cold symptoms. I can’t believe I escaped the misery the other ladies were experiencing. It’s probably because I was on antibiotics from my surgery. Who knew that would protect me.
If you’re having a group of people over for Christmas, or going somewhere with a lot of people. Think twice. Masks aren’t great for Christmas photos but they might keep you healthy.
If one of your older relatives laughs a little too loud over a naughty joke, or tells one of their own, don’t shame them into being quiet and sitting on the sidelines. Maybe ask them what their best joke was. Engage them. Let them be center stage for awhile.
What’s a girl to do for Christmas? After seeing my friend Mabel on FaceTime the other day, coughing her lungs out from Covid, I’m going to stay home, isolate, play with the porch kitties I’m trying to adopt out, try and raise funds for their neutering, and watch Christmas movies.
Happy holidays, everyone!
Lucy Llewellyn Byard is currently a columnist for the Record-Bee. To contact her, email lucywgtd@gmail.com
