We had a dear friend come to stay for the weekend recently. Esmat is from
Afghanistan and lived with us for several months after he arrived in Ireland. He moved out some weeks ago to start a job in Dublin, and this was his first weekend coming down to see us since he left. Food was a big part of this time with us.
You will likely not be surprised to learn that food has always been important in our home. Making school lunches for the kids as they ate breakfast in the morning, batch cooking at the weekend for the week ahead, Sunday brunch all together… chopping, cooking, eating together, even cleaning up afterwards; these were the things that brought a rhythm to our lives, that connected us in ordinary but lovely ways. Now that the kids are grown, the rhythm has changed, but it is still there. The kitchen is still the pace where we connect most often. The room to which everyone emerges in the morning to start their day, and where we will more often than not reconnect at the end of the day as we prepare an evening meal.