A celebration like in our time!
18 June, 2019
I remember these “ultra relaxed” summer parties organized by my extended family! It was in the 80s and 90s in the countryside. I have fond memories and I feel a bit of jealousy for my parents who lived through these great gatherings. Basically, this is perhaps what I am trying to reproduce with my big family. As far back as I can remember, I've always loved summer parties! These moments when everyone lets go of their madman, the rosé acting as a social lubricant! When everyone leaves their "as for themselves" aside looking only for the pleasure of connecting to satisfy this need to laugh and release the pressure of everyday life. It must be said that I am the proud descendant of a family of revelers with whom human relations took up a lot of space. These aunts and uncles who landed without announcing themselves and who transformed our flat afternoon into an improvised party. My parents and their families had easy happiness! It was never really complicated, there was always a jar of spaghetti sauce or a couple of dozen hotel dogs to thaw if the fun was taken and everyone was kept for supper. I remember my mother who completely let her guard down when we were gathered. I remember the special leave, crisps at any time of the day, late-night gang swims, and the neighbors who came out to join the party. There were never any decorations at these parties, no Pinterest style iced cake, no gastronomy even, but there was a whole atmosphere: people who loved each other, who teased each other, happy to meet, sometimes even someone one getting thrown into the pool fully clothed. I don't remember that my aunts' houses were spic and span when they received us and it seems to me that all these beautiful people were happy only with a case of Molson and a few bottles of Hochtaler! My cousins, cousins and I had our everyday clothes and we ended the day stained with pop sicle, the green knees of grass and nobody cared. No one picked up anything that night to go to bed with their heads free. They knew how to take full advantage of the present moment my ancestors. I remember that the next day, aunts and uncles very often disembarked to lend a hand in picking up the vestiges of the previous day. Everyone enjoyed telling the anecdotes and reliving the party repeating what one had said and what the other had done. In the area of Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest,foodies, lovers of good beers and good wines, perfect parents raising children who must eat well, go to bed early, be well dressed and stay clean, I have the impression that we have forgotten the essentials! That by dint of wanting to embroider the most beautiful party to publish the images on social networks we forgot that happiness is extremely simple. I sometimes experience these frustrations, because I feel that if we want to keep this rhythm of life very "Pinterest" we are too tired for the really fun things in life. Entertaining requires a little work, but isn't it one of the greatest pleasures in life. Opening your house to people you love giving them the impression that they are really worth it, putting your life on pause to welcome them and have a good time, as if there was no tomorrow. This is all that we will remember in the future, unfortunately not your braised beef or your shrimp cocktail in small spoons that you spent the afternoon concocting. The real recipe for a summer party resides in a few bottles of dew, 10 dozen hotel dogs, a small pool for children, a ton of mister freezein the freezer, music, mosquito repellents and the people you love. Easy right?