Life with father

The typical post-election question is, will the two political parties compromise for the sake of the American people? Regarding compromise, it is well to remember Barry Goldwater’s advice that “extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And … moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue!”

My father has moved in with me and my husband, and I am in the mood for compromise and see no dangers regarding virtue and liberty. Where principles are not at stake, I am all for giving up and giving in on my issues for the sake of the pax domesticus.

My dad prefers small dinner plates and small drinking glasses, so that’s what I set out for him. Whereas David and I just rest the dishes on a naked table, my father likes a place mat, so he gets one. My father prefers margarine to butter, so, though I have voiced my opinion on hydrogenation, I also buy margarine for him.

My dad likes a cold room. Got it. He likes a shoehorn by the door. Done. He doesn’t like the toilet seat up, ever. Done. His favorite foods are soup, bread, and salad; we will have them in abundance. He likes ice cream with 0 percent fat content. (After buying a carton boasting “half the fat,” I have learned my lesson.) He wants a small towel for bathing, not a big thirsty one. (Takes less room in the washing machine.)

This year is the 100th anniversary of the beginning of World War I. The most famous conflict of that war is the Battle of Verdun two years later, though it was neither decisive nor the bloodiest, and though it was fought only between France and Germany. Germany seemed on the verge of taking the city, but the French Resistance rallied and halted the enemy advances.

Nevertheless, morale among French soldiers sagged for several reasons, food being at the top of the list. “An army marches on its stomach,” said Napoleon a century earlier. Paul Jankowski writes in Verdun: The Longest Battle of the Great War that the French complained mostly about the quality and quantity of their rations, and the fact that they didn’t get enough wine. Hey, if it takes wine to win a war, let us supply wine.

Last month my British nephew was visiting and could endure all things as long as he had his proper tea. I saw to it that the kettle was ready at a moment’s notice for a rapid boil. There will be a lot of compromising and accommodating going on in this house for here on out. Not, Lord willing, on any issues of moral consequence. But in the felicitous sense that the Apostle Paul himself tried to accommodate for the sake of the peace and the kingdom of God:

“If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all” (Romans 12:18, ESV).

Andrée Seu Peterson’s Won’t Let You Go Unless You Bless Me, regularly $12.95, is now available from WORLD for only $5.95.