"Guess what I did today?" my cousin's wife, Lisa, said eagerly into my ear. I could tell by the tone of her voice that it was something wonderful. We were both newly wedded, lived only several miles apart, and did lots of things together.
"What?" I asked into the phone, wondering what she would reveal.
"I booked a Princess House Party!" she exclaimed triumphantly.
My feelings plunged into the depths. What a let-down! There had been several Princess House parties I had been invited to in the recent past, and I hadn't even bothered to RSVP...it was stupid, I thought, to pay so much money for dishes. Only rich people could do that, and we weren't one of them. So, I never went, and rather avoided them, bitterly, too. But Lisa was waiting for a response.
"That's nice," I said flatly. It wasn't really a lie, though, I told myself, because it probably WAS nice for somebody out there.
Lisa didn't pick up on my damp mood. "You have to come and meet this consultant. She does a really good job and it's so much fun. You're going to love it," Lisa continued enthusiastically, and she proceeded to give me the date.
"Good! Send me an invitation," I said into the receiver. I thought to myself, "I'm glad it's not until the middle of summer...I won't have to think about it for a long time."
The day came when Lisa sent me an invite. I lost the invite, and forgot all about it. The day before the party, just like a good hostess should, she called me to remind me that the party was tomorrow. "Are you coming?" she asked hopefully.
"Shoot!" I exclaimed, quickly thinking of what could be done the next day. "I have several rows of beans to pick. I'm so sorry, I don't think I should come," I said, seeing in my mind's eye the young beans that hung on the plants. My husband liked his bean nice and young and tender. Yes, I was sure he did! Also, I was remembering my checkbook. Should I really go if I didn't think I had very much money to spend?
There was a moment of deflated silence at the other end of the phone. Then, Lisa gathered herself together and said something that changed the whole trajectory of my life. "Well, then. I'll come to your house and pick your beans in the morning, and you can come to my house for the party in the afternoon."
"But...but..." I stammered.
"Glenda. That Princess House Consultant said I'd get a gift if there was 10 ladies there, and I have 9 coming. If you come, I will get the gift. I really want that gift," she said wistfully.
My heart broke a little at her wishful tone. After all, what are friends for?
"Don't worry about my beans, Lisa," I said gently. "My husband and I will get up early in the morning and pick them together. You know how good he is at it. He picks vegetables faster than anyone I know. I know you have to get ready for your party. I'll be fine."
"Ok. Thank you, Glenda," she said, and hung up.
* * * * * *
The next morning the dew hung thick on the bean plants and it was just starting to get light as my husband, EJ, and I wended our way through the rows of beans and began picking. The hem of my skirt was soon soaked.
"My, why are you picking these beans so young?" asked EJ. "They could have easily been on the plant several days yet! You'll get more if you wait just a little."
"Well, you know how it is in the summer. Beans get ready before you know it, and we like them young and tender," I said.
"Wow. Well, it is hot out these days," EJ commented.
We went on picking, visiting about all kinds of things. I loved to garden with him-it was one of my favorite times to chat with him.
EJ seemed to know what he was doing when it came to gardening, and he was good at it. He knew when to plant things, when to spray them, and when to pick them. He also was an expert at weeding, and he never let me touch the tiller- that was not something his lady was going to do. I had not grown up with a garden in my Northern Vermont childhood, so I didn't know very many tricks to the trade. I was a willing helper, but EJ was my wonderful gardener, and we had a huge garden for just 2 people!
Finally, we finished the last row. We went inside and ate breakfast; then he left for work. I cleaned the beans and had them in the freezer by lunchtime. I was delighted with the beautiful beans, and spent an extra moment admiring the filled freezer bags with satisfaction...there certainly were no old or stringy beans. And they were picked before the weekend...I had my weekend free to do other things. It was a good feeling.
* * * * * *
Lisa's party WAS a wonderful party. The consultant there was named Charity. She was great, just like Lisa had told me, and we had so much fun. We laughed until we cried, ate wonderful food, and told stories.
I was actually really impressed by a dish called the Miracle Chicken Dish.
Then, Charity played a game. A Game with 2 dice. If you rolled double ones or double sixes, you got her beautiful Grand Prize. It was a oven safe serving platter. I would have loved to own it. So, I rolled the dice. But I didn't get the Grand Prize, I booked a party.
However, by this time, I was having so much fun that I didn't care. Charity sent me home with a catalog, I placed a small order, and everyone was happy. Due to conflicting schedules, it would be a bit until the party was held, which was fine by me.
I had my Princess House Party when I was about 6 months pregnant with my first baby...we found out that it was a girl, but were trying to keep it a secret.
Anyway, the evening party was so fun, and people actually bought products, and we had good food...and I was absolutely blown away by everything I got for free!!! I didn't even pay that much for all of things I got. I couldn't believe it.
I was updating my kitchen, including that Miracle Chicken Dish, with things I would love to use.
Just before she left, Charity pulled me aside. "Now, Glenda," she said, her blue eyes looking earnestly into mine, "did you know that if you would join Princess House as a Consultant, you would have made about $100 tonight?"
I gasped. "Really? For real?"
I thought about how I had managed a bulk food store in recent days gone by... It was a pile of work, picking up 5 gallon buckets of macaroni salad, heaving around heavy boxes of hams and roast beefs and sacks of flour, and skinning my frozen fingers on the metal shelving of the cooler. My lower back was in bad shape because of that job, tensions were high, and I came home from a hard day's work sore, mentally disturbed, and exhausted--and I still didn't make a hundred dollars.
"Well," Charity said, "you know, not every party is as successful as this one. But yes. That's what I would have made tonight."
My brain thought fast. What would it be like to do a party once or twice a week? Or even a time or two a month? That sounded awesome. "Well, I'm having a baby soon," I told her. "I'm interested, but I don't want to start this until after my baby comes. Can I call you when I'm ready?"
"Absolutely," Charity said. She handed me some information about joining Princess House, and scribbled her number on the papers.
That night, after she left, I carefully filed those papers in the filing cabinet with trembling fingers. Someday, I was sure I would need them.
My Princess House Product arrived. I unpacked the new products, washed them in hot soapy water, found a new homes for them in my cupboards, and enjoyed using Princess House Products.
But as the days passed by, I forgot all about Charity's Princess House papers hidden away in the back of the filing cabinet.
-to be Continued.
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