CRUDITES

In the 1990s I was working with a young man whom I liked a great deal and he told me that he'd just become engaged and would need time off for their honeymoon.  I told him, "Oh, that's wonderful;  I hope you'll be as happy as I have been in my marriage."  He answered, "Thank you so much;  you're the first person to say something positive!"  Since I was the only female in the department, I said, "Oh, you know how guys like to razz."  He replied, "No, it's more than that;  women I've told are negative too and one actually said that the marriage probably wouldn't last."  I asked, "Does she know your fiancee?"  He answered, "No, they've never met."  I said, "Then how the Hell could she make such an ignorant statement?"  He said, "Well, I'd told her that we come from very different backgrounds."

I asked what kind of work his future wife did and he said that she had her own catering business.  I told him that was a very difficult job and I knew as I had catered myself.  I said, "There's nothing worse than dealing with the mother of a bride."  He said, "Oh, she says the same thing."  

I asked if they saw their diverse backgrounds as a problem and he said,  "Before I met her I didn't even know what crudites were and now I'm eating leftover vegetables all the time!"  I laughed and said, "You'll be chiffonading before long!"

I attended their wedding and after he left the Company, we stayed in contact, but after a few years, mostly just by Christmas cards.  In their Christmas letter this past year, I was pleased to see that they are still married, have two children, and after years of working in manufacturing management, he is now managing the family catering business.  His wife's postscript:  "Dear Sweet Sue, we STILL use YOUR Dip Suzanne recipe whenever I serve fruits." and his postscript: "I CAN chiffonade with the best of them!"

See HOW TO CHIFFONADE video: