New Season
My family has let me know I’ve dropped the ball on the dinner game. To be honest we’ve been coasting on fumes as I adjust to the pace of our new normal as the Turquoise Table movement grows. And grows! I love every second of leading Front Yard People, but it’s definitely taken some re-prioritizing and re-scheduling and re-inventing.
Maybe you relate? Have you started a new job? A new season of caring for a loved one? Moved recently? We all have new seasons that require us to rethink the ways we “used to do it.”
I recorded a podcast recently and the host asked, “what is the most important lesson you’ve learned since assuming this entrepreneurial/leadership role?”
Life Lesson
Easy answer. “My ‘nos’ are just as important as my ‘yeses.'” Hard to live. Husband has a litmus test he’s been using as we make decisions both personal and in our work.
If it’s not a “Hell YES!” it’s a no.
I’m Queen of saying YES. It goes back to that pleaser/perfection thing I talk about in the book. Thanks to Husband and my ever so patient family, I’m getting us back on track and we are adjusting to our new normal of me working full-time.
Do you know what the entire family misses most? Our family suppers.
We Belong at The Table
Whether it’s the dinner table, the Turquoise Table, the communion table, your best friend’s table. . . we belong at the table. So, I’m rolling my sleeves up, learning to meal plan, relying on my trusty slow cooker, and using time-saving grocery delivery services like Shipt and Instacart.
Basically, family dinner is a hell yes.
So is this easy weeknight steakhouse salad. I had all the ingredients on hand — rotisserie chicken from HEB, bacon leftover from breakfast, blue cheese from the container. . . you get the point. Instead of serving from the cutting board on the counter, I took a couple minutes to arrange everything on a platter and told the family I was trying out a new Steakhouse Salad inspired by the wedge salads in fancy restaurants.
Maybe they were starving. But, my people loved this simple meal. I think the small gesture of making it look pretty conveyed the message they needed to hear: I love you.
- Iceberg lettuce, quartered
- 6-8 bacon slices, cooked
- ½ cup blue cheese, crumbled
- rotisserie chicken, cubed
- cherry tomatoes, halved
- favorite salad dressing
- Arrange salad ingredients on a platter and serve family style with dressing.
I just finished your book…l loved it! It’s so much more than the brief magazine story l had read about it. I am a person in poor health that rarely gets out of my apartment. But your book inspired me to open my door, take my walker and walk a few apartments down the hall to visit my neighbor! It was wonderful to see her smiling face when she answered the door. Thank you for your inspiration.