What a wonderful blessing the parents' weekend cocktail party turned out to be.  There were indeed the cocktails that the invitation promised, but the event was in fact what we used to call a 'dance' with a wonderful live band featuring music from the 70s - when most of the parents were coming of age.  And so we parents were there watching our daughters - this was a sorority event - as they danced joyfully together without the pressure of guys being present, witnessing them revel in the bonds they have formed in the cauldron of academia. And I had the delight of doing the pretzel with my daughter, and dancing romantically with my Claudia, who has always been the perfect fit for me.  What a blessed delight!