5 DINNER GUESTS

It's Day 19 of the WEGO Health Activist Writer's Month Challenge and my task is to tell you about the five people I would have over for dinner. My group may seem ordinary ... but I assure you the circumstances are anything but!

Guest #1: My father. He didn't like to travel, so he never visited me after I moved out of state. He died four years ago — six months before I got married. (My brother walked me down the aisle. Yes, that was emotional.) My mother, still grieving, wasn't well enough to make the cross-country trip, so she did not attend my wedding either. (Yup, that was emotional too.)

Guest #2: My husband's father. He was the only one of our parents to attend our wedding (my future mother-in-law died while my husband and I were still dating). Unfortunately, my father-in-law passed away seven months after we married.

Guest #3: My mother. One year after my father died, my mother decided she was ready for a change. So after visiting my siblings in various parts of the country, she made her way to our place. Her timing was bittersweet and laced with fate, because she never got to meet my father-in-law. Why? He died three weeks before she arrived. (Are you following?) After visiting us for a few weeks, my mom decided to stay — permanently. We toured several apartment complexes, but nothing was a perfect fit. Then we realized we already had the perfect fit — nope, not my house; my late father-in-law's. She now resides in my husband's childhood home. So instead of saying "Let's go visit your father" I say, "Let's go visit my mother." Same house, different parent. Kismet!

Guest #4: My husband. How could I leave him out of this masterful dinner plan after all that?

Guest #5: The Barefoot Contessa. Ina Garten is such a fabulous cook; her recipes are a delicious delight, and her parties look like so much fun. This is a dinner party, after all, and someone has to cook. Why not ask Ina? We'll go to her Hampton's house and eat outdoors with the cool ocean breeze. Sounds downright delightful.