Breaking Bread

I tried to think of a way to make that more of a play on 'Breaking Bad', but that's as close as it's going to get, so it'll have to do.

We had friends over for dinner tonight, something we love to do but don't do nearly enough of (see my post about 'Margins'). We go back and forth about this, for so many 'reasons'. Our house is very tiny (our laundry room is actually combined with our dining room, we have a galley kitchen, etc.); Jim has a lot of homework involved in getting his counseling degree, and our time together is already very limited; the boys have bedtimes; other people's kids have bedtimes; our house isn't clean, yada yada yada. And yet...we love spending time with friends, and long to have real, lasting, intimate relationships with people. How do we marry these things?

By doing it. What? Simple you say?! Shocking. But so true. We just have to do it. So we did. We have a group of friends that we've come to love dearly and spent a lot of time with this spring/summer, but vacations and fall and its new routines have left us all more scattered than before. We decided we missed that time, so on Tuesday I sent out a mass text, and had an open invitation to them to come for dinner tonight (Thursday). This summer we had a friend who did weekly soup nights and had a standing invitation, and it was probably my favorite idea ever. So, I planned a couple different soups to make (one catering to the boys' allergies, one not) and set a time, and that was that. Not everyone could come, but those that could, did. We had 6 adults and 6 kids in our little dining room; Jude only napped for 45 minutes all day so went to bed while they were here; kids were screaming at various intervals, food was passed, wine was poured, multiple conversations happened at once...and it was just beautiful. It made me so thankful that we just did it.

My day wasn't stellar up til that point; I actually texted our guests earlier and said 'Just a heads up. It's been a hell of a day, don't be surprised if I've already cracked open some wine when you get here!' (I hadn't, but I thought fair warning was due.) But those are the relationships I value. The ones where I can text random things and share when I feel crazy or I'm just irrationally frustrated and they get it. No drama, no fuss. When they came over tonight I'm pretty sure a toy was scraped across the floor with the opening of the door, there were crumbs scattered in random places, laundry piled on the dryer next to the dining room table. And it was all just perfect. Because we were breaking bread together, and sharing life - in all of its mad craziness at this phase of littles!

As a Christian, I celebrate the Eucharist, or Communion, as it's more commonly known. The breaking of bread and drinking of wine. We do this formally in church, yes, but the older I get the more I've realized that it is celebrated exactly as Christ said 'as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup'. When I'm celebrating life with others - especially when we connect through faith - it a truly special, sacred thing, not to be taken for granted.

So, may I encourage you - forget cleaning to perfection or cooking a gourmet meal. Forget planning schedules to coordinate weeks in advance. Think of some friends you love - or friends you'd like to know better - send a text, and break bread this weekend. Maybe it's chili and football on Sunday, or a picnic at the park, or last minute Mexican at a local dive. Whatever it is, I promise it will be good. And bonus: somehow, after you've had a great meal with friends, the cleanup isn't nearly as unpleasant as a typical evening's dinner. I was done 10 minutes after they left, wondering what to do with all my time!

Here's to impromtu parties, good friends, good wine, good food and sharing this beautiful, crazy life together. It's always, always worth it.