This year was my parents' thirtieth wedding anniversary. Since I am an only child, the responsibility for organizing a family gathering fell on me. I figured that such an occasion calls for something more than just a quiet dinner at the house. Instead I reserved a table in a fancy restaurant that served traditional Polish dishes. Neither my parents nor my uncles or aunts would be very pleased if I took them to a Chinese or a French place. The concept of globalization is not a popular one among the members of my family. We cherish the good old Polish traditions. In this spirit I ordered a plate of cucumber soup as the first course and a pork chop with potatoes as the second one. The meal was crowned by an apple pie dessert. Everybody put on their best formal clothes. I could tell that all my aunts went to the hairdresser's the day before. My mother looked especially nice in her salmon dress. My father, on the other hand, looked very smart, which is rather uncharacteristic of him. After the festive meal we went for a walk in the park and took some photos by the river in order to commemorate this special day. It was a splendid afternoon and I can only hope that my parents' fortieth anniversary will be as good as this one.