Red, White, Blue… and the People We Love 🇺🇸
One of my favorite recent reads is The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong. Early in the novel, a character says to Hi, the main character, “by turning food into feelings, we transform it. It’s not all about being full, it’s about taking care of people, giving them happiness.”
I haven’t been able to stop thinking about those words.
That’s exactly how this Fourth of July weekend felt for me. My oldest daughter has been dealing with some difficult health challenges, and she came home to be with us for a little while. We traded the weekend getaway we had planned for a quiet weekend at home. Instead of celebrating with fireworks and travel, we celebrated this important milestone in our nation’s history by caring for our daughter, cooking meals, spending time as a family, laughing, watching movies, offering comfort, and simply being present with one another.
As I prepared meal after meal, I found myself returning to that quote. The food wasn’t just food. It was a way of saying, I’m glad you’re here. I’m taking care of you. You don’t have to carry this alone. Every plate carried something beyond its ingredients.
Stan and I did manage to steal a little time for ourselves on the Fourth of July. We spent the morning watching a local parade before walking just a few steps to a restaurant I had been wanting to try for brunch. It wasn’t an elaborate outing, but it didn’t need to be. For a couple of hours, we enjoyed good food, good conversation, and the simple gift of being together before returning home to what mattered most.
We enjoyed delicious homemade breakfasts, comforting dinners, and I even baked blueberry muffins. I love to cook, but baking has never really been my thing, so this was definitely a special treat. And, of course, the muffins were baked in red and blue wrappers because this weekend was all about celebrating in red, white, and blue! 🇺🇸
Oh, and I can’t forget a drive on the evening of the 3rd to watch the fireworks with a friend—only to end up getting caught in a summer storm. The fireworks may have been canceled, but the weather didn’t dampen our spirits.
We joined dozens of others sitting in a parking lot, watching the rain pour down from the comfort of our car, hot oat milk lattes in hand, sharing a blueberry muffin. We talked, we laughed—a lot—and reminded each other that, in the end, it was never really about the fireworks. It was about the gift of spending time together, driving through the pouring rain, and finding joy in an ordinary moment: sitting in a random parking lot, waiting for the storm to pass, while making memories that turned out to be far more meaningful than any fireworks display could have been.
Tonight’s menu is Chipotle-style beef bowls with homemade dips and chips. Maybe we’ll even get to sit out on the deck—it looks like the rain has finally taken a break, at least for now.
This weekend reminded me that the most meaningful celebrations aren’t always the ones we plan. Sometimes they’re found in the quiet moments around the kitchen table, where love is expressed in the simplest ways. Maybe that’s what it means to turn food into feelings—to transform an ordinary meal into comfort, hope, and the assurance that, no matter what we’re facing, we belong to one another.
Happy Independence Day!!! I hope you were able to celebrate (your own way) our nation’s amazing milestone! ❤️🤍💙
