Listening to an interview with Foodnetwork show host Alton Brown, the interviewer asked him, "Is it true you gave up milk because milk is the gateway to cookies?" Alton replied that it was harder to eat a whole sleeve of Girl Scout cookies unless you were drinking milk with it. Certain foods are paired so closely with other foods (burgers and fries, etc.) that by giving up one you will find it easier to give up the other. This is an idea that merits more thought.
Last night at Saturday dinner, it dawned on me that though Emma and co. are the only ones missing, it feels like at least 33% of us is gone. And I think that would be true of anyone who quit coming. . . The whole you leave is disproportionate to the actual missing number.
This reminds me of a good discussion on "What Every Baby Knows" (alas, now, no longer being broadcast), hosted by Barry Brazelton the famous pediatrician. A discussion was held by a bunch of young moms trying to help them determine whether or not to have another child. The visiting expert commented that when you have Mom, Dad, and Baby and then add another child to the mix, 17 new relationships begin. There is Mom relating to new baby, Dad relating to new baby, Mom and Dad together relating to new baby, Mom and older child relating to baby. . . You get the drift.
So when one is missing from our family table, there are probably several hundred relationships involved. I can't do anything about this, but it does help explain my sense of loss at Saturday dinners.
Another bird leaves the nest
14 years ago
3 comments:
I meant hole, not whole.
There is an easy way to edit your post. Remind me to show you.
I miss Emma and feel her absence to be greater than just her as well.
Oh how I love you and miss you all. When the hole inside me starts to ache, I remind myself of how grateful I am to be a part of such a beautifully spun web of relationships.
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