So, my best friend Haze and I were invited to her next-door-neighbor’s Christmas party. Nothing facy. Just a neighborly, holiday get-together (or so we thought).
Naturally, we showed up like respectful adults do – with a bottle of Crown Apple, a bottle of Jack Daniels, and enough mixers to support a small dive bar.
We knocked on the door feeling festive, generous, and fully confident in our current life choices.
The door opened…..and we were met by her neighbor who appeared to be having a small panic attack, complete with the furrowed brow and and bulging forehead vein. He looked as if we were standing on his front step holding a live grenade!
His shocked eyes left our faces, traveled down to the bottles in our arms, and back to our faces. And then he paused…..the kind of pause that lets you know something has gone terribly wrong.
Finally, in a very soft shaky voice he said, “Ummmmm….this is a Christmas Party for our Alcoholics Anonymous group.”
To his credit, he handled it like a professional. No lectures and no disappointed facial expression. He simply moved into immediate crisis control.
He quickly ushered us to his laundry room and instructed us to hide our bottles and mixers in his washing machine. We hid our contraband, closed the lid of the washing machine, closed the door to the laundry room, and never spoke of it during the party.
They graciously allowed us to stay and enjoy the party, despite our inappropriate gifts. And honestly, it was a great party!
There was food, laughter, and an aggressively competitive game of Cards Against Humanity. No one drank alcohol. No one cared. Everyone had a genuinely great time.
When it was time to leave, Haze’s neighbor walked us back to his laundry room, opened the lid to his washing machine, and returned our stash like a bartender closing out tab at last call.
We took our alcohol, said our goodbyes, and went home with our dignity mostly intact.
We did however, learn a very important lesson. You don’t actually need booze to enjoy yourself…..but it does help if you don’t accidently bring it to the wrong house!