At Easter time last year Ilise and I were in South Florida visiting my father at his retirement community, to which he had downsized and relocated about six months previously. The campus includes several acres of beautifully landscaped grounds and common space, including resident-designed rose gardens, two duck ponds with water features, and the lush tropical vegetation that abounds everywhere. Spring is the perfect time to appreciate all this natural beauty before summer’s sweltering heat and oppressive humidity take over, driving us back indoors to the air conditioning. We really enjoyed taking morning and evening walks around the property, camera in hand.
The plan was to invite a few of Dad’s friends over for Easter dinner, which Ilise and I would prepare in his teeny-tiny condo kitchen at John Knox Village. It truly is a one-at-a-time workspace.
We prepared a modest little buffet with glazed baked ham, and Ina Garten's potatoes au gratin (looking extremely overdone in the pix below, but still quite tasty if you like the crusty bits), roasted squash and a few other items. Deviled eggs made an appearance. As home cooks who take a certain pride in our kitchen skills, this was not one of our better efforts although still a step up from the retirement community cafeteria. Our guests appreciated the effort though. And as it turns out, this party wasn’t really about the food at all.
My dad, Elden, had received a not-great medical diagnosis shortly before our Easter visit. It was serious but not alarming, at least not then. He still felt pretty good and was happy to socialize with his old pals. In the months following our dinner party Dad’s condition took a wrong turn, the decline began and progressed pretty quickly. By the end of October he was gone.
So even though I burned the potatoes, it was a meal to remember. I’m so glad we had that day together when things were nearly normal, laughter came easily, and we toasted to everyone’s good health -- Elden, Nyla and Joan, Michael and Paul, Barry and Jerome, Ilise and me. And I’m extra-special glad that Ilise insisted we bring the "silly" back into Easter with bunny ears for everyone and a basketful of jelly beans and chocolate treats!
So even though I burned the potatoes, it was a meal to remember. I’m so glad we had that day together when things were nearly normal, laughter came easily, and we toasted to everyone’s good health -- Elden, Nyla and Joan, Michael and Paul, Barry and Jerome, Ilise and me. And I’m extra-special glad that Ilise insisted we bring the "silly" back into Easter with bunny ears for everyone and a basketful of jelly beans and chocolate treats!
RSS Feed