Food for Thought

In a few hours, I will deliver food to a third family in as many days, each coping with either new life or new death. It is an interesting custom we have, feeding those going through monumental changes; as a result, my own emotions have been like a geyser, ready to burst forth at any moment. The extremes of welcoming life and mourning death are inextricably connected, and each evokes one of our most primal instincts: taking care of each other.

Big B has helped me create these meals, from mixing and baking to delivering and hugging. I am proud to teach him the value of community, but there is something deeper in this ritual: with each step in the creative process, we pour the celebration, the mourning, the love into sustaining those who need it. Through acknowledging the need to nourish others, we are nourishing ourselves.