Yesterday and today have been all about cooking – cooking pies, making side dishes, setting tables. All the setup just for one meal sometimes seems kind of overdone, but then I remember the number of times I can count having this much of my family in one place at one time, and I feel less awkward about putting all this fuss into just dinner.
Still, it’s been an exercise in letting go – letting go of expectations, letting go of all the cooking, letting other people be involved.
Some things are harder than others, and I have a hard time sharing my kitchen. I think because I’m Queen of the Kitchen all the time, and am so used to juggling everything myself, it’s weird to have other people helping. Usually I get around this by assigning specific dishes to other people, so that it’s more “Mom is making mashed potatoes” than “Mom is helping me prep for the green beans”, even if Mom is in the kitchen with me for both scenarios.
It’s probably a pride thing, which means I should look a little deeper at why I want to have so much control over the kitchen, but I think I’m happy with the way things are going this year. Maybe next year I will be able to hand the whole thing over to someone instead.
Regardless, I hope you have a bountiful, blessing-ful holiday, filled with friends and family (whether family you are related to by blood or family you’ve chosen to enrich your life).