We are in the sunset days of child-rearing. Our daughter is now a busy senior in high school, with a part-time job and driver’s license. Often, there is one less face at the table, one last voice to talk about the day. Our meals are simpler now as we no longer have to prepare healthy meals to fill a growing body. As my husband and I sit alone at the table we realize our work now is to reconnect with another, make our way back to each other. Back to the days before daughter came into our lives and the hours of our days were filled with feeding and nurturing her. Now we turn towards nursing our aging bodies which, as it turns out, need much less food than growing bodies. We are moving away from large meals. Often, I place simple meals on the dinner table along with small glasses of wine to remind us that now we can fully sink back into the early days of our marriage. Only it isn’t l...
Personal Essays, Food Memoir, and Short Stories