An Interview With My Mother.

We've talked a lot about entertaining on this blog. The way a person entertains is a result of several factors. The way they were brought up, the influence of friends and family, the culture they live in, and much much more. I thought it would be fun to interview someone in my own life who has played a significant role in the way I entertain today. My mother. I asked her the question of why she entertains. Her response was:

"We recognize hospitality as a gift that we can give to help people feel connected. We like to invite people over for a meal who may be new to the area, recently lost a spouse, young families, empty nesters, and those who are single. We entertain because we want to get to know them better and it also provides our other guests with the opportunity to get to know someone they might not have talked to otherwise as well. People like to talk about themselves, so sometimes we put a penny under everyone's dinner plate. When we take the plates away to bring out the dessert, our guests discover the penny. Then we ask them to look at the date on their penny, and share something about their life during that year. They share things like where they were working, whether or not they were in school at that time, where they were living, etc. As they share, it leads to more questions from other guests around the table. This activity not only lets us get to know our guests a little better, it also helps keep the conversation from being monopolized by one particular person and gives everyone the opportunity to talk."