Easy entertaining

In my middle age plus years I have discovered a very good way to be with my family and not have to spend all my time cooking and cleaning up things. It is very simple. I ask the ones who live some distance away to meet us at a resort for a weekend.

This is easy for me because I teach the Road Scholars (Elderhostels) at the YMCA of the Ozarks near Potosi, and have some faculty privileges to occasionally have guests. Since our grandson lives in Illinois, the place is between his family and Vernon County.

I had finished leading a class for the week up in the lodge, but my sister Ellen and I were moved to the family cabins to accommodate the other family members who were to arrive on Friday evening. Lester and Shirley (who is the mother of our grandson) joined us from here and Kevin, his wife, Barbara, and their combined five children came from Quincy, Ill.

We made quite a parade as we went into the dining room for the late shift. Since the food is served buffet style, even with a small buffet for food the children like better, I had no responsibilities as hostess except to latch on to a couple of adjoining tables to seat everyone.

After several trips back to get another taste of something someone else had on their plate we were all fed, relaxed and had shared a little news in spite of the happy noises in the large dining room that overlooks the beautiful lake.

But the best thing was, some eager high school age young people hurried to carry off our dirty dishes. Some of us even took another insulated cup of their great coffees or hot cocoa back to our adjoining cabins.

The weather had turned too cold for swimming, but the older children enjoyed riding the provided bicycles around the campsite and the littler ones enjoyed the playground, and most of them used the paddleboats or canoes.

Lester and I enjoyed going back to the couch and easy chairs in the living room of our cabin and waiting to hear reports from the younger ones as they came back from each excursion around the camp.

The second night we built a fire in the fireplace that divided the two attached living rooms and made s'mores and played family games for several hours. There was room for the younger ones to be put to bed in one of the two bedrooms in each cabin when they got just too tired to stay up any longer.

Then the older children and the four adults continued with the games. I think maybe I was one of the first to suggest bed for all of us. (It wasn't that I was getting too tired you know. It was my consideration for my older sister and one of the other adults who wasn't feeling up to par. As a hostess I felt it was the least I could do to be sure that no one had to stay up longer than they chose!)

A morning of miniature golf, bicycling again, and one last big meal in the lodge was all that was needed to make my hostess duties come to a wonderful end. The only negative part was the long drive home, but we had lots to talk about and that made the miles fly past quickly.

Not once did my hands touch dishwater, a pot or a pan, nor did I have# laundry to do after my guests went home.

But home still looked pretty good when we drove up the driveway. Our own little lake was sparkling in the sunset.