The Valentines Special

It was our first Valentine's Day since we'd met, and less than two weeks till our wedding. Tom had hung out with my parents many times and I'd gone to New York for his parents' 50th Anniversary celebration, but our parents had yet to meet each other. Since Tom's folks had arrived early for the wedding, we decided Valentine's Day would be the big night our parents would finally meet.

We chose to take them to Black Angus in Lynnwood. Hearts, love, joining families, and steak -- what could be better!

When we pulled into the parking lot we could hardly find an empty spot, and inside a large crowd hovered around the door. We asked for a table. "Do you have a reservation?" the hostess asked.

Well, no, not officially. We'd just planned to eat there. Wasn't that enough?

Evidently not. We could wait for an hour or so for a table, but that didn't seem like a good icebreaker for the parents. We decided to search out an alternate plan.

We drove around town for a while, stopping here and there to check out local restaurants. It wasn't looking good. Finally we stopped at a hotel with a dining room. Would it be possible to get a table for six?

No problem, we were told, but the room is quite full tonight and the tables would have to be pushed up against the wall. Would you mind to eat facing the wall?

The point of my story is not to remind you of the wisdom of making dinner reservations. We blew it, plain and simple, and we learned our lesson. 'Nough said!

What I really want to convey is what good sports our parents were and how everyone got along so well and honestly liked one another. There we all sat, facing the wall, laughing and chatting and eating our second-choice dinner. It was a festive and memorable occasion.

And eleven days later we all walked down the aisle and became a new family.

I'd call that Valentine's Dinner a great success!