I Made It Through the Picnic! - Respect Food Roles

Elegant patio table and chairs, set for a picnic

Not a huge event. I wasn’t putting on a wedding, or a political convention. History was not going to be changed in any way if we ran out of food. (It might have been if someone had gotten sick from the food, but that didn’t happen.) We probably ended up with around 100 people, and while the last 10 or so people didn’t get any salad everyone got a burrito. And there was plenty of dessert. All in all a very successful evening. People lingered and lingered, always a sign of a good party.

Here are some thoughts as I look back:

1. It’s not necessary to do everything myself. It was such a relief to know that we were having the event somewhere other than our house. I could slave away at the food and not have to worry about getting the kitchen cleaned up before everyone came. I didn’t have to worry about the drinks. I didn’t have to worry about seating. There’s no need to drive myself completely crazy.

2. I really should think through the process more ahead of time. So I vaguely thought, “I’ll cook the chicken on site and shred it,” but when you’re talking about 20 pounds of chicken that’s a lot of work! Or another vague thought: “It’s not necessary to mix together the bean-and-corn salad ahead of time; I’ll just bring the cans along and do it there.” But, again, it’s more work than you might think. However, . . .

3. People do enjoy getting to participate. So my chicken-choppers were actually having a very good time standing around the cutting board whacking up all that chicken. And the lovely couple who put together my salad were also enjoying themselves. I’m probably too dependent on people just showing up and rescuing me, but that always seems to happen. There are always people saying, “How can I help?” It would have been a disaster, though, if I hadn’t had the chicken choppers. And things would have quickly gotten out of hand mess-wise if it hadn’t been for the guy who seemed to be having a great time cleaning up. And of course my wonderful husband did a huge amount of schlepping, and I came home to a clean kitchen due to my wonderful son. (I did tell said son to do said cleaning, but he did so cheerfully and thoroughly.)

So there it is. I wish I had been able to avoid going around with an incipient anxiety attack for most of last week; my emotional reaction to an event seems to be very unpredictable. But in the end all was well. I need to keep asking myself, “What can you do to forestall your worries?” This question will be helpful as I look ahead to the big Labor Day cookout in (belated) honor of Jim’s birthday, and the first Chorale retreat breakfast, and the startup of my church’s Wednesday-night dinners . . . you get the picture. As my college public speaking teacher used to say, “What are the three ways to overcome stage fright? Number one: prepare. Number two: prepare. Number three: prepare.” What is my anxiety before an event but stage fright? Fear that things won’t go well. So I guess my course is clear!

What about you? What could you do to prepare ahead of time for an event or activity that makes you nervous?

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