I love you, and I made meatloaf for dinner…

I made meatloaf for dinner last night. It’s been a summer of chickfila and low-effort meals thrown together before or after the pool and work. But last night, I had the happy coincidence of ground beef and lots of veggies in the fridge and realized it had been a long time since I’d made something so cozy.

As I started chopping and tossing mirepoix into my cast iron skillet and the smell completely transported me to what feels like every night of my life growing up. I don’t think my mom has ever cooked a meal that didn’t begin with an onion browning in a skillet. It felt so homey and, dare I say, fall-like on this first week of September?

Mom mentioned the other day that the orchard is open. Our dear sweet neighbors who own the most beautiful countryside orchard that has been a part of my life since I was 16. I worked there all through my teens and look back on it as such a fun and happy time. For me, the orchard opening always signals the end of summer and the beginning of a new season and of course, my birthday!

We’ve had a few cool nights here in Tennessee. The school year is in full swing (although we start next week!) and I have a few events on my calendar that require autumnal dressing. I’m not ready for summer to be over, but I will admit with a heavy sigh, the sweaters have been sneaking into my peripheral vision.

And so it happens again, that bittersweet feeling of life and seasons starting to change. I felt it right there in my kitchen.

There are few things that I love more that feeding people the food that they love. My husband (who is the least foodie-person I’ve ever met, like, could eat a turkey sandwich for every meal for the rest of forever and not think twice about it.. I know, but apparently opposites attract) he stopped in the mid-bite and said “Wow! This is amazing. You know that I love meatloaf right?” Yes, I did know that.

There is this beautiful quote by Shauna Niequist that stops me in my tracks every time. If I were to have some kind of manifesto or overarching theme for my life, this is what I would want it to be.

“This is what I want you to do:  I want you to tell someone you love them, and dinner’s at six.
I want you to throw open your front door and welcome the people you love into the inevitable mess with hugs and laughter.

Gather the people you love around your table and feed them with love and honesty and creativity,
because there will be a day when it all falls apart.

There are things I can’t change.  Not one of them.  Can’t fix. Can’t heal, can’t put the broken pieces
back together.  But what I can do is offer myself, wholehearted and present, to walk with the people
I love through the fear and the mess.  That’s all any of us can do.  That’s what we’re here for.”

Shauna Niequist

When the world feels broken and I feel very small, there is a comforting strength that comes from gathering around a table and feeding my people. I love it so much that it feels selfish some times (is it more for them or for me? I cant say.). Taking that time to prepare a favorite meal or bake a treat to be enjoyed with hot tea at the end of a long day, to set the table and turn on music and light a candle. To let loved ones know that they are loved. I think it might just have the ability to fix and heal maybe a little more than we realize.

P.s. Go make a meatloaf this weekend and serve it to someone you love (or lasagna if you have the luxury of being able to eat gluten and dairy!)