Hostess Lori

I already mentioned that Lori is a wonderful hostess. We've had the opportunity to stay with her on many different occasions and she (and Alex) always make us feel right at home.

I think it was January 2005, and the boys and I had gone to The Springs for a visit. Jill and her family were living there as well at the time and we all spent some good times together. One afternoon we took all the kids to a local swimming pool (which is a funny story in and of itself--horse bridle!) When we got back to Lori's, we were all starving. Lori and I scanned over our dinner choices and finally decided it would be meatballs (the pre-made, just warm them up in the oven kind), rice and peas. We thought that would be quick and easy to satisfy our growling stomachs.

Lori felt a little bad about her simple meal. She wished she had created something from the Martha Stewart Cookbook for her guests. I assured her that my children would probably prefer the simple meal over Martha Stewart anyway. But, the whole time time the food was cooking, Lori would sarcastically comment on what a good hostess she was and how impressed we were going to be with the meal.

Soon enough, the timer went off and Lori checked to see if the meatballs were done. They weren't quite hot in the middle yet, so we decided to give them a little more time. After an additional five minutes, everything was ready and Lori began to dish up plates for everyone. All the while, she was still proclaiming her excellent hostess and cooking skills.

We got the kids all served up, blessed the food, and I sat down to sample my plate. I stabbed a meatball with my fork and raised it up toward my mouth. As I did, I realized that it wasn't perfectly round like the others were. It had a "divot" out of it's backside. I realized that I had been served the very meatball that Lori had checked for doneness earlier BY TAKING A BITE OUT OF IT! I calmly held my damaged meatball out for her to see and said, "Lori, you are a fantastic hostess."

We've all witnessed what followed...Lori laughing hysterically...she can't breathe...but instead of running for the bathroom, she just stood there. She couldn't move. After she calmed down, she excused herself for a moment and came back wearing different pants.