A Wonderful Tea Party

Yesterday I went to an "Old Fashioned Tea Party" at Fort Meade. Kim, the woman in the middle of this picture, organized a fabulous event for the Ft. Meade Officers' Wives' Club. Kathryn Falk from Romantic Times BOOKreviews magazine was there as well as a host of authors--Cathy Maxwell, Mary Jo Putney, Rebecca York, and others including me and Diane Perkins/Diane Gaston. (In the picture, I'm the tallest one on the left and Diane is on the right.) Everyone was invited to wear vintage clothing. There was quite a variety of hats, gloves, pearls, and pins.

Diane and I drove together--well, Diane drove and I navigated. We got there a little late--blame the Washington, D.C., area traffic--but there was still time to mingle before we had to report to our assigned tables. I truly lucked out--I was seated at the "Best Scones and Tea" table. This is not an exaggeration! Pam, our table hostess, baked all the goodies herself and they were to die for! (I'm afraid I had to give myself a dispensation from Ash Wednesday fasting--to do otherwise would have been rude, and surely rudeness is a sin....) She also brewed a very creative selection of teas.

I have a few friends who are part of military families, but my contact with the services is really very limited. What struck me yesterday was the strength of the women in the room. They knew how to manage their families on their own, how to move across the country or the world and make new friends--and how to have a good time while doing it all! (Perhaps I should own up to the fact here that I have basically lived my whole life in one little corner of Maryland.)

So here's a shout out to all our men and women in the military--especially those in combat--and to their spouses who keep the home fires burning!!

PS--Happy 90th anniversary to Ft. Meade!

PPS--Diane grew up in a military family and has a wonderful article about her mother here.