From Where I Sit

By Pat Spilseth, Columnist

Have you been glued to your TV for the past week? The Queen of England’s funeral ceremonies have filled the TV screens around the world. It seems that not only Americans, but the entire world can’t get enough of the pageantry, the pomp and circumstance, coming out of the British people’s admiration and dedication to their queen.  

I do wonder where all those beaver hats and glorious uniforms dripping with medals have been stored for years. We haven’t seen such a colorful, elegant spectacle since Princess Diana’s wedding to Prince Charles, recently declared the new king.

Who isn’t filled with awe and wonder at the love and devotion the Brits have for their queen? Her dedication to their country has been rewarded with adoration for their queen, an honorable, dedicated and formal woman who lead her country with total dedication,

Watching the formal celebration and spectacle on TV,  I wonder if some of us in America aren’t longing for a return to more formality in life? Look around you. Who dresses up any more? Who entertains with china and crystal? Who uses a living room any more? Today many prefer to gather in front of the TV in a casual family or recreation room. A formal dining room with table and chairs for eight with china cabinet and chandelier is rare. 

Perhaps we’re a bit tired of the informality our lives have taken on. Working from home in PJs and eating take-out meals gets old. Convenient, yes, but boring and unexciting. Casual Friday attire and every day sameness have encroached into our entire week. Little is special and out of the ordinary. 

I need a change!

Some of us miss that long absent Sunday dinner at the dining table with white tablecloth, fine china, napkins and fancy glasses. Remember when the family sat at that formal table still in our Sunday clothes after Sunday church and ate a roast beef or chicken dinner with all the trimmings of mashed potatoes, gravy, corn and lettuce salad with a cherry on top? I’d like to know who makes gravy any more? Think of the calories! Who’s had a beef or pork roast dinner lately?  

Those things seem to be a forgotten. Today’s lifestyle is all about informality and casualness.  

Are we too busy to make the effort to launder and iron linens or are we just plain lazy? Perhaps we just don’t care any more for all the extra work. Who cans peaches and makes chokecherry jelly? Who cans tomatoes and makes dill or bread and butter pickles? Who bakes homemade desserts? Who mashes potatoes?

THAT’S LOTS OF WORK!

We can purchase these items ready made at the store. But do some of us maybe miss the personal satisfaction of putting our personal touch and effort into these tasks?  

Who irons? At the store, few clerks know what starch is. Everything is permanent press…no ironing needed. I don’t miss the wrinkles and scorch marks on white shirts when I iron.

Dave and I have belonged to a dinner group for over 30 years that hosts formal dinners with lovely tables set with china, crystal and siver. What a delight to be served a special homemade meal with flowers and wine! It’s lovely to be entertained in a formal manner on special occasions.  

Beer and brats or hamburgers and chips are tasty and don’t need to be served on china. Paper plates and plastic cups are just fine. Casual entertaining is great; clean up is quick, and leftovers can go in the trash, but once in awhile, it’s special to be treated to a formal dinner.  

Will women ever return to purchasing and wearing dresses? Will office attire and church attire return to more formal dressing? Personally, in my senior way of thinking, I would like to see no jeans in church, especially not on the pastors of the church. It feels respectful and special to dress up for some occasions.      

I’ll confess that I’m bored with all this casualness of every day! Let’s return to special occasions and some formality!

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

To contact Pat, email: pat.spilseth@gmail.com.