Did Someone Say Hot Dog Party?

One may think that a hot dog is a hot dog, but go to any city or country famous for their hot dogs, and you will hear differently.  There are Chicago style hot dogs.  Coney Island stakes a claim on hot dogs.  Never to be outdone by any other city, New York of course, has its own spin. Cincinnati is known for its chili cheese dogs which feature their very own local Skyline chili, and I am sure at least a dozen other cities will claim to have a special and unique variety when it comes to serving the All-American hot dog!  This extensive list brought no light to the variety of sausages which are found across Europe.  European countries, and more often regions, or even cities, have their own special sausage varieties.  Some of these sausages might resemble the more American notion of a "hot dog," while others remain more traditionally sausages.  This brings me to the origin of the "hot dog party" in question, which just so happens to be the island nation of Iceland.  Iceland is known for its own unique hot dogs, which are made from lamb meat, and the hot dog stands serve them with their own unique set of appropriate condiments. 

As long-term readers of this blog will know, I am half Icelandic.  My mom was born in Iceland and has maintained strong links to her native land and heritage (to learn more read: A Displaced Viking).  Whenever family members return from a visit, they bring hot dogs, and the family gathers together for what we call a "hot dog party."  These events are very informal, but my nurse and friend, Kaity, overheard my mom telling me we were going to be having one and her ears immediately perked up.  I believe she said something to the effect of: "hot dog party?  I do not know what that is, but can I be invited?"  In any case, I explained the family tradition, and fortuitously she was scheduled to work with me on the day of the upcoming hot dog party.

When you put in the time and effort to make something into an event, special, or unique, it gains value — it becomes an event to be remembered.

At this juncture, one might be inclined to wonder what the point is.  Okay, Iceland has their own type of hot dogs, Loa's family has parties when they are able to acquire Icelandic hot dogs, and Kaity wanted to join in, so what?  Well, the answer to that requires a bit more of the back story.  Later in the day, after finalizing the family hot dog party and Kaity's invite, I had a bit of a meltdown.  After dealing with an onslaught of several medical issues over the course of a few weeks, I was tired of feeling ugly, wearing loungewear, and not bothering with either putting on makeup or doing my hair stylishly.  Therefore, Kaity and I decided that I needed to get all dolled up on her next shift, which just so happened to coincide with the infamous hot dog party.  The morning of the big day, Kaity showed up dressed for a party, announcing that she did so in order to ensure that I would not back out of my previously prescribed "mental health dress-up" treatment.  We spent a good portion of the day getting ready to introduce Kaity to some of our Icelandic cuisine in style, stopping along the way to take some fun photos.

Kaity and I, dressed up in our hot dog best!

The moral of my hot dog party lies in taking a few extra steps to turn the mundane into something memorable.  Without Kaity being intrigued by Icelandic hot dog parties and deciding that my mental health would benefit from a little pampering, that day would have passed as completely unmemorable, just like any other day.  The concept of turning simple events into memorable ones, or even creating events out of nothing, is something I have learned to value through sustaining a spinal cord injury, enduring COVID-lockdown, and living in a fast-paced world where it is easy to get into a habit of only doing what needs to be done each day.  When you put in the time and effort to make something into an event, special, or unique, it gains value—it becomes an event to be remembered. 

I once read that time speeds up as we age, because there are fewer landmark events in our lives when we are older, i.e. graduations, marriages, childbirths, etc., and from personal experience this not only makes sense, but feels very true.  Yet, I have found that by putting in a little effort from time to time to make what would have been an ordinary day extraordinary, people can slow down time for a brief moment while also adding to their bank of memories. 

For those of you who are curious, Kaity loved Icelandic hot dogs, including the sweet crispy fried onions, which I think are delicious, and remúlaði, a condiment best described as combining mayonnaise and relish, which I find repulsive.  Cheers to my hot dog party and a very memorable day!