DEBORAH REID WRITER & CHEF
  • Home
  • Clips & Podcasts
    • Sample Writing
    • Travel Writing
  • Recipes
    • Video Recipes
  • today
  • Blog
    • Theo
  • About
Picture

today

28/8/2022

 
Picture

I eat a lot of meals alone. That's how it is as a single woman.

There's nothing sad about it. Do you know what's on my table? Most nights it's pretty nice. Rattling the pots for myself is important, and I'm worth it.

I don't often notice the absence of others. I like my company.

***

Then I began having dinner once a week with a large family. 

Here was a thing I was missing. It made me happy. Having someone cook for me. The intergenerational conversations at the table — I'll never forget one night and the talk about high school civics. The kids trust me and consider my opinion.

Two nights ago there were seven of us, including a darling little girl who's a bonafide heart softener. 

Like all families, the talk can get raucous — the back and forth between teenagers and parents in Arabic. Because I miss the context sometimes, I'll ask, "What are you talking about?"

I'm often the last one at the table. Squeezing everything out of it. Scooping up the last bits with torn pieces of pita. I don't think I've ever left anything on my plate. Appreciation is visible.

***

I can smell dinner as soon as I exit the elevator before I knock on the door with the red heart wreath. Ghaithaa cooks like an angel. I peer into the steam when she lifts the lids on simmering pots. We talk about cooking and recipes in a mix of Arabic and English. Understanding runs between us.

She is a sister to me.

On the way home, there's always a bag of leftovers on the subway seat beside me. At midnight Friday, it was fresh lamb, toasted and ground coriander and cumin, and a container of Molokhia made with fresh jute mallow bought at a store in Mississauga. Their excitement at finding ingredients from back home. The stew of chicken and greens is pure comfort — ghee and lemon emulsify into a creamy broth.

And there are the new-to-me traditions like eating at sundown during Ramadan. Barbecuing kebabs in the park — smoke and the aroma of spices rising to meet the dusk. 

***

For giving a little in a time of need, I received.

A new family. A place at a dinner table. 

An absolute glut of love.

***

Nothing takes the past away
Like the future
Nothing makes the darkness go
Like the light
You're shelter from the storm
Give me comfort in your arms
Nothing really matters
Love is all we need
Everything I give you (Everything I give you)
All comes back to me

2022

Voula Halliday
28/8/2022 09:15:51 am

This comes to life. I can smell dinner. I love the song you picked too. Amazing lyrics.


Comments are closed.

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021

    © Deborah Reid, 2021 - 2025. All Rights Reserved.

    Categories

    All
    Today
    Today Books
    Today Cookbooks

    RSS Feed

    Subscribe
© DEBORAH REID, 2012 - 2025

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • Clips & Podcasts
    • Sample Writing
    • Travel Writing
  • Recipes
    • Video Recipes
  • today
  • Blog
    • Theo
  • About