Food for Thought

A very special woman in my life shared some “food for thought” with me this weekend — our Bubbie (Evan’s Bubbie really, but we share :)). There comes a time when we all realize that all the drama in our life is unnecessary and happiness is focusing on what is important — laughter and people who bring you joy. Along with the food for thought, there was an exercise to select eight women who I would consider sitting at my table through the journey that is …  life. I’m good at math and I quite understand that eight is too few, but alas, I started to think who I would want to continue my life’s journey with.

I won’t disclose my list … here. But I will highlight two women on my list — my aunt & my mother-in-law.

My aunt: I have three aunts as my mom has one sister and my dad has two. The person I mean in this case is my mom’s sister. Of all my aunts, she is closest to me because — well, distance, chance and because we are rather similar. She appreciates travel, art, literature and uniqueness. She is a very classy lady who has over the years maintained a well-appointed home where she raised a beautiful family. We celebrated my aunt’s 65th birthday this weekend. Evan, Sophia and I made the journey back to Delaware for the occasion and were happy to once again be surrounded by family. Her friends came from near and far and it was … well, it was how I would want to celebrate my 65th birthday.

My M-I-L: At first glance, you would think my mother-in-law and I are fairly different. I like modern and stark and travel and she likes comfortable, warm, abundant. However, if you dig a little deeper, you will see that we share some of the same values. We are both mama bear mamas and will do anything for our children, will probably overstep bounds of propriety to make sure our children are sated, happy. We both like to craft, too. My mother-in-law always helps me stretch beyond my comfort zone and try new things where Sophia is involved. For example, she convinced me to try cheerios when Sophia was six months old, maybe seven. I was convinced that Sophia would choke, but none-the-less, I gave it a go and we have never looked back or been happier with Cheerios. Every time we visit, or my in-laws visit, Sophia seems to have accomplished or tried something new. I am very glad that I have her in my life.

I like to surround myself with people who inspire me to aspire to something — it helps me grow as a person.