So when the girls were infants, I was juggling taking care of newborn micro-preemie twins as a single mom, Riley being in and out of the hospital, going through a messy divorce and some super crazy post partum depression. Sounds amazing right? Well during that time, my sister who was later to be named Sa by Keagan, sacrificed a whole heck of a lot to help my little family. Like a lot! One of the things she did was start making dinner for all of us, EVERY NIGHT! I would haul my babies over to her house to get a real meal and some adult conversation while everyone loved and spoiled Keags and Rys. And then I would bring the leftovers home for Nana to eat. It was one of the things that saved me! For reals.
As my life got much more manageable, the girls got older, and I needed a lot less help, the dinner thing just remained. We have tried many times to do dinners separately, but all of us hate it. It's torture for all of us when someone goes on vacation or has something else going on for too many days in the week. Dinner together is just what we do. It's a big part of who we are. Life just isn't our life without our dinners together.
For a while Keags sat in a booster seat and Riley for reals sat in a bumbo seat in the middle of the kitchen table! I still can't believe we didn't ever photo document that! My almost 7 year old Riley still sits in that booster seat and Keagan plays musical chairs. Sa doesn't cook on the weekends and I so can't blame her! So even then, Todd or I pick up some sort of take out and usually at least Friday or Saturday we still sit down at her table. On Sundays their church time is late so this year I am actually trusted to get dinner ready. But don't worry, Sa has still planned it and left specific instructions like a good big sister would. She usually throws in a little extra task too. Evidence...
I hate cooking and Sa is so good at it. So there is that. She is rockin her mom thing and cooking good meals for her family anyway, but she doesn't have to include us. Those dinners haven't just made my life easier. Sa's dinners have allowed me to continue to be more then an Aunt to my nieces; it's true that sometimes they call me mom. They have provided a daily source of love to my babies that is truly invaluable. They have made me feel like I'm not so alone in this parenting thing. And I've had some of the best conversations and some of the hardest laughs of my life at that table!
My sisters dinners haven't just physically fed my little family, they have done so much more! That table and those dinners truly make my life so much richer and bring me so much joy.
In a million languages and a million ways, thank you for dinner Sa. It was delicious!
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