Everyone knows -or has a vague sense, anyway- that Catholics don't eat meat on Fridays during Lent. For years, I didn't eat meat at all. We used to joke that we should start eating meat as our Lenten penance. Then last year, about a year ago actually, all hell broke loose in my life. A friend got deathly ill and needed a lot of care. This is what friends suit up for; caring for her was and is an honor. Many, many people just did what they had to do to get Becky well -and I didn't do the most by a long shot. But one of the things that suffered as we tried to squeeze more into a day was our food.
We didn't even notice. When things are chaotic, it doesn't even register that we're eating out more often or that the stuff I cook is, well, lame. We even started to eat meat again. It's fast and easy. My husband and son like it, in any case, and have always eaten it when I wasn't around. (Did you think I didn't know??) So, no one commented.
But over the past few months, I've been reading Ardent Eden's blog and Bread Chick's blog, and have committed to the Year of Living Generously. Inspired by them, I am gently, slowly, lovingly, reclaiming my kitchen and a more healthy and nurturing dietary style. Now, I'm saying this knowing full well that we went out to dinner last night and will probably go again tomorrow night. We clearly have a ways to go here to get back to the culinary style that I want. I want to feed people in ways that make restaurants superfluous.
And that is a kind of Lenten practice. It's not penitential, because I love to do it, but it is sacramental in a way. It's a sign and a symbol of something more, but it's also elemental. It's an artistic practice when done intentionally and with that mindset. So, in our little family, we're moving away from the metaphorical trough and reconnecting with the sacramental table.
So the next step is to get back to a vegetarian diet. If the rest of the family wants meat, they can certainly have it. But I really don't want it. We're going to have three vegetarian days each week. And as soon as I've gotten people on board with that, I'm going to sneak in some more ;) People will either step up and do some cooking themselves, or they'll cope.
And you know what else? I'm not going to beat myself up if this is a slow process. We've let things get pretty far out of hand on this subject. Every little step is an improvement. One fine week sometime soon, I'd like it to be true that we set the table and eat a civilized meal, in the dining room, every single day for a week. We have a long way to go before that's the reality. Small steps, grasshopper. Small steps...
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