Saturine March Party

This evening we had a neighborhood party at our house.  For many years my parents had an "After Christmas Christmas Party," and while I have wanted to have one of those too, Kent has put his foot down and said no.  Too much happens in December.  So instead, to meet my desire to have a party and Kent's desire to move the festivities to a time of year when very little is going on and we need an excuse to get together, for the past two years, we've had a Bleak Mid-Winter Party, in February.  

This year, I didn't get my act together in February (we had lots going on), so we moved it to March.  And as the winter has been anything but bleak (two days of winter back in December), this year we called it the Saturine March Party, named from the poem Kent wrote for the invitation.  We, Kent and I, had initially wrote a much less poetic invitation.  It rhymed, but it wasn't super interesting.  When I asked Kent to come into the office and check it out on the computer, he said, "Can you work in 'airy persiflage' somewhere?"  I asked where he felt it would work, then he excused me and said, "I'll work on it."  Here is what he came up with.

March has much against him.

Not yet free from winter's grasp

Nor convinced of spring's surety,

He slogs along on muddy feet,

A cold wind at his back.

To help this lumbering fellow along

Join us for conversation, conviviality and comestibles.

Bring a bowl, a pot or a platter to share,

And with airy persiflage and friends unite

To shove Saturine March into Spring.

Isn't that wonderful!  Several people told me they had to look up lots of words to even know what we were saying.  I think it's just fantastic.  We invited 130 of our closest friends, and had 48 of them actually come.  There was, as our invitation intimated, conversation, conviviality, and comestibles, all in rich abundance.  I had spiffed up the house, and although we were 50 people, it was such a glorious evening, we threw open the doors to the backyard and had the inaugural use of our new patio.  I had intended on taking pictures sometime during the evening, but I was so busy, I took only one picture, before anyone came, of the tulips I used to decorate.  A sure sign of spring.  It was a wonderful evening and a tradition I plan to continue for many years to come.