New baby, new meal
Jun 22, 2009
Grandchild number two arrived recently. So I, as grandma, arrived to help out. I spent time with the two-year-old while mom and baby bonded in the hospital.
I was (somewhat) prepared for the high emotions of the first few days – the way the two-year-old studied her new baby sister, trying to make sense of it all; the way my son hovered protectively, and beamed.
I was not surprised that my daughter-in-law complained about the hospital food. It didn’t look all that bad to me, but then, no institutional cooking is going to be what you’re used to at home.
Still, I was blindsided by the degree to which everyone felt the milestone nature of our first dinner at home. Even though my cooking is different from that of my kids, my daughter-in-law was deeply thankful to have that first meal together. The family was reunited; in some ways the same as before, in some ways changed forever. We could all look at each other and say – yes, from now on, this is how it is going to be.
Mealtimes Matter Video
from Miriam Weinstein
About Miriam
Miriam Weinstein is an award-winning documentary filmmaker. As a journalist, she has won several awards from the New England Press Association. Her work has appeared in Boston Magazine, the Boston Globe magazine, Hope, and ParentSource. A former staff member for North Shore Weeklies and freelancer for Essex County Newspapers, she writes restaurant reviews and food columns as well as features on a wide variety of subjects. She lives in Gloucester, Massachusetts, with her husband and has two grown children.
The Surprising Power of Family Meals
In her book, The Surprising Power of Family Meals, Miriam Weinstein shows how this basic human institution helps nourish and strengthen our families today.