This past Thanksgiving was just about the best ever. I really enjoyed the planning and preparations leading up to the event and did not feel rushed, overwhelmed or overworked. I took off the day before and baked pies, peeled potatoes and made some side dishes. The kids really got into the festivities too and helped out. Sophia took charge of the appetizers and the mashed potatoes. Paul and the boys  foraged through the garden for trimmings to make the center piece and everyone helped to set the table. My sister Jill also came over early to  lend a hand.

The meal was fantastic and afterward I relaxed in the great room with a glass of wine while the kids cleaned up. The highlight for me, however, was Pop Pop’s  guest. Pop Pop  is Paul’s 89-year-old dad who lives close to us in a retirement home and comes over quite often. He told us he was bringing a lady friend. This was someone new and we all took guesses  on what her name might be  throwing out Depression era names like Gertrude, Marge, Rose and Helen (my guess.) We also conjured mental pictures of what she looked like. Paul said she would have blue hair. I said maroonish red. And what would she be like? Some of Pop Pop’s lady friends have been, how should I say this?, low in the intellect department, or just kind of nervous and fretful. Not this time.

Her name was Lotus. Lotus Monroe and she was an absolute delight. She arrived with a hostess gift of a potted plant in disheveled wrapping and when she handed it to me she self-effacingly joked, “Now you can see why I got fired from my job in the gift wrapping department at Macy’s.” A sense of humor. Loved her.

It turns out Lotus has had lots of jobs, which she talked about throughout the course of the evening. She was once an actress in Hollywood and New York City, having worked in films and on stage. She also produced television shows. She’s sold trust deed investments and, as it turns out, we both worked for the same wretched boss so we had lots of stories to share there. The most fascinating part of her past was that she was once married to Robert Altman, the famed movie director of such remarkable films as The Player, Short Cuts and Gosford Park. This nugget of information she dropped quite nonchalantly as in, “My second husband was a movie director.” “Oh really? What was his name?” I inquired. “Robert Altman.” She told us all about her life with him, which is recounted in a recently published Altman biography Robert Altman: The Oral Biography

We all decided Lotus was a keeper and gave her an open invitation to come to dinner whenever Pop Pop is invited. Not only did Paul and I thoroughly enjoy her company, we also felt she was such a great role model and an example of what it means to live a rich, full life.  And for that we are all truly thankful for.