Yesterday we had a party. This, for is, is a pretty monumental event. Aside from the kids' birthday parties, the occasional baby shower, and the rare times we invite friends over for dinner, we're not really party central. Eddie is home so rarely that he doesn't like to complicate things by inviting a whole bunch of extra people over. Except, I guess, when they're his people.
A few months ago I blogged about the miserable office Christmas party Eddie subjected me to. You know the drill-- dress up in something uncomfortable, make small talk with people you don't know who think it's weird that you're a SAHM, and eat terrible food while watching everyone else get very drunk. So when Eddie approached me about inviting the other fellows over for a party, I'll admit that I wasn't too excited about the prospect. But, since I am an extrovert by nature and starved for the chance to put out a spread, it didn't take too much convincing, especially since it meant that I could get new patio furniture (I don't think all of the guys would have appreciated sitting around the Little Tikes picnic table).
So yesterday was the big day. Seven couples (and assorted kids) showed up. I learned that Eddie possesses some exceptional bbq skilz that he only pulls out for special occasions. The kids stayed up way too late playing Guitar Freaks on playstation (which one of the guys brought in his even bigger toy, a porsche convertible-- he's the one who says he can't have kids because he'd have to give up his toys).
When everyone left, it dawned on me that we were the only Caucasian couple at the party. Eight of the fourteen adults were born in another country. For a while, it felt really cool to be part of such a multicultural celebration of our country's independence. But then I realized we still had a long way to go to be true representation of America's diversity. Aside from us and the other white guy, the people at the party were of Indian, Chinese and Vietnamese descent. All of the guys were doctors, and the wives ran the gamut from SAHMs like me to teachers to principals to lawyers. Even though we were totally comfortable with being with people from (sort-of) diverse ethic backgrounds, we were all from the same sort of privileged economic background.
It's not like I'll be inviting people off the street next year to get a better balance of ethnicities and social classes at my 4th of July BBQ, but being in the midst of a little bit of diversity made me realize my own little social group was still made up of people who were a lot like me, even if they didn't look so much like me.
--originally published 7/5/06
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