Around the Table

We have just entertained a 24 hour stomach bug at our home for the last couple of days.  You know, because we're so hospitable.  Big kids were spared, thank goodness, and the rest of us are only a little worse for the wear.  Ben and I learned that sometimes even two sets of hands to hold two babies is not enough to keep everyone happy, which threw us all for a loop because usually these twinsies are so cheery.  Whew, we were tired out yesterday.  But, as Pa from Little House is oft quoted as saying in our house, "There is no great loss without some small gain," and sometimes these bugs leave you with a sudden surge of energy in their wake.  Maybe it's just the relief of feeling normal after a day or two of lethargy.  And just so, this morning we all woke up refreshed after a good night's sleep and we're back to the lovely day to day business of summer.  Mornings at the pool, early afternoons resting and reading, late afternoon doing arts and crafts around the table and cooking.

Clara and Dorothy have started regularly joining us at the dinner table, and I can't tell you how full it makes my heart.  Five little bodies, five voices, five personalities.  I think Ben and I have sat around a dinner table together every day of our marriage, save for the few days that one of us has been elsewhere or we have some exciting event.  And babies, toddlers, and little children have joined us there, along with friends or family members.  It really is sacramental, this coming together to nourish our bodies.  There's something so centering, calming, and rhythmic about it (even on days when it feels like chaos and cacophony, and there are plenty of those!).  The babies get something special, preferably something which will take a loooong time to eat (spaghetti seems to work well), and Hugo and Lily are not (I repeat not) allowed to sit next to one another.  Too much poking.  Zosia makes the perfect buffer.

I'm also sort of loving how easy it feels to throw together a meal in the summertime.  It can be as easy as grilled meat, some raw veggies, and toast.  Or nectarines and whole milk yogurt for lunch.  Lily helped me make some granola with nut flour and oats the other day (this is the recipe that we use, replacing nut flour for regular), and it seems to fill our tummies a little better until snack or lunchtime.  Our family saying for granola is "Half a cup will fill you up!" or, as Zosia the resident poet ammended, "Half a cup is quite enough!" which we especially make sure to recite to guests who, accustomed to grocery store cereal, might mistakenly fill their bowls to the top and later regret it.  With plenty of protein, and healthy fats, and a serving of whole milk (can you tell we're all about the beneficial dairy fats?  No skim milk here, thank you very much!), it makes breakfast a much more nourishing affair.