I recently offered to make my every-two-weeks dinner and tea into a floor event in Morewood Gardens (with funding from my RA!) instead of my weekly teas from last year. I decided to call them Stone Soup Suppers. For those unfamiliar with the fairy-tale, here’s the best version I could find. Basically, I will plan a main meal and everyone who wants to come can feel free to bring something, whether that is their time to chop a few veggies, some fruit from the store, or just their presence for some calm downtime during usually hectic weekends.
While I was searching for a good version of the Stone Soup Story to pass on to my RA (residential adviser) I found this touching essay by Barbara Kingsolver about “broken” families. As child of an amazing and rather unconventional family, it is really nice to have my family’s structure affirmed rather than condemned. She is particularly sensitive to the negative attitudes towards divorced families, but also touches on gay, extended and single-parent families. She also used a term I have never heard before: blended family. I like the positive, open tone of this essay and recommend it for anyone who wants to hear a stridently supportive piece on happily different families.
Inspirational Quote:
“Strength just comes in one brand–you stand up at sunrise and meet what they send you and keep your hair combed.”–Kate Vaiden (in the novel by Reynolds Price) quoted by Barbara Kingsolver.
