Today, I'm packing up some curries to take to Michael and Lynne, that will hopefully sustain them in their hopefully-almost-complete hospital stay with their daughter who's been undergoing surgery. I have tamarind-pork curry, cauliflower fry, ginger-garlic chicken, carrots in coconut milk, and rice. And since all of that is rather messy to eat in a hospital lobby, they can save it for later, and Kat and I will bring them banh mi sandwiches for lunch.
I am, of course, sorry that their daughter is ill, and hope she gets super well super fast. But at the same time, I'm glad that I have time and energy to cook food and bring it to them. They can just eat out, of course; their hospital is in the heart of Chicago, and there is no shortage of restaurants around. But there is something about these old traditions that I find very heartening, somehow. In the midst of our modern society, with its busy rush-rush, I like having a small opportunity to show love. This sort of thing used to be taken for granted, but we've all gotten so disconnected that I think it now takes a little extra effort to do things like visiting the sick, knitting for new babies, etc. and so on. It's no longer habitual, but I think it's well worth it.
And again, thanks to Kevin for watching the kids while we're out. Community and partnership. Goodnesses.