Family Potluck

Phew!  These last three weeks were a lot more hectic than I expected.  But I just kept reminding myself that we were all back in school and that this kind of year is always crazy and that we would all be okay.

As you well know, I tend to revert to complainer mode when I'm feeling things are spinning out of control, and I've been doing plenty of that.  But there's also been some interesting soul searching going on, regarding our future, and what's next, and how we want our lives to look moving forward.

There have also been some moments of exquisite gratitude.  Have I told you that one way we manage the kookiness of being working parents is to have a meal schedule?  Yep:  Monday is soup and sandwich night, Tuesday is pasta night, Wednesday is make-your-own-pizza night, Thursday is Mexican night, Friday night we eat out, and Saturday is open (whatever we feel like eating, or often we have plans).  It's a good system, but with some flexibility built in, and we all like it.

But I think Sunday night is really all of our favorites.  We call it family potluck night, and it's an awesome way for us to mark the end of the old week and the beginning of the new; to get the kids involved in preparing meals; to eat up random odds and ends hanging around the kitchen; and to really just be together in a very simple, lovely way.

It's pretty straightforward:  everyone just brings something to the table, loosely coordinated, and according to one's ability.  Tonight, Nolie cut up some fruits and vegetables and arranged them on a platter; Addie diced and mixed mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil from our garden to put in the pasta that Eric made; and I diced up some going-mushy tomatoes and broiled nearly-moldy bread for bruschetta.  The girls set the table, Nolie made placecards, and we lit some candles.  The cool thing is doing dinner like this frees each of us up to try something new, or to combine things in new ways, and the girls have serious buy-in at dinner.

I hope you're having a happy Sunday!