“Can I help you make some meals to freeze?”

Every chapter in our lives has us doing what we are able. Some chapters I can easily whip up 2 dinners (one for us, one for a friend), a loaf of bread, yogurt and granola all in one afternoon. Other chapters has me barely able to get popcorn, a slice of cheese, and half an apple on the table and declare it a “well balanced meal.” So this chapter had me a few days out from my due date with the desire to make some meals to freeze for after baby but absolutely zero energy to actually do it. Without family in town and most all of my friends with families of their own, I wasn’t sure who to ask for help. But unexpectedly, my aunt Barb was driving through town and asked to spend the night with us. Seeing this as a golden opportunity, I ran to the store and bought everything we would need. When she arrived, she more than happily agreed to help and after putting the kids to bed, she, Andrew and I got to work creating meals to freeze. We were able to roast a chicken to shred for enchilada casserole and chicken pot pie, made 2 (8×8) lasagnas, and meatballs to toss into numerous batches of Marcella Hazan’s infamous tomato sauce that would surely be making appearances in the weeks to come.

And then my water broke.

So I finished up the lasagnas I was working on and my aunt and Andrew finished up the rest and we all went to bed in anticipation of the labor and delivery ahead… aka the mind numbing, excruciating pain I was undoubtedly about to endure.

As the weeks have followed and I take out a lasagna or chuck some meatballs into the sauce, I have been so grateful for my aunt’s help. It has saved us from a lot of takeout meals and the inevitable trash that comes along with those. As helpful and appreciated as drop off meals are after a baby or a surgery, I’m realizing it can also mean so much to spend time with a friend before an anticipated event (especially if they don’t have family in town) preparing meals for when they are needed and keeping waste to a minimal. I’m hoping there will be many opportunities in the future that I can pay forward the kindness my aunt did for me.