A CUP OF WINE

A CUP OF WINE

I am born in Bulgaria. My husband (Gary) is American. After 13 years of marriage, we are now an American-Bulgarian or a Bulgarian-American family. We constantly joke about differences in holidays, traditions, culture, while honoring them and learning from each other. Sometimes, the jokes may escalate into innocent fights.

One day, I had cooked a nice dinner -- sauteed salmon with ginger glaze, brown rice, and steamed vegetables. Healthy and all organic. Since I am not too much into vegetables, I used a smaller size plate for my dinner. My husband immediately noticed this. He asked, "Why don't you use the same sized plate for you?" I answered, "Because in Bulgaria for smaller meals, we use smaller plates." He did not give up."As far as I see, you are not in Bulgaria, are you?" I did not give up either. I am not a quitter. I poured his favorite Chardonnay in a big (American) coffee cup. Then, I served dinner. 

Gary looked around and asked where the wine was. "Here it is." I answered, pointing at the coffee mug. "Why in the coffee mug?" "Because in Bulgaria you never pick a fight with your wife at dinner. You do it only if there is not enough rakia and wine. The size of the plates and the glasses do not matter!" This was my final answer.

We laughed and laughed. Gary is a professor at work and a good student at home. I learned to serve dinner in the proper dinner plates and wine glasses, too.Problem solved.