I was watching a video last night of a well know NYC pizza restaurant owner cooking chicken cutlets with his 90 year old grandmother in her kitchen, the hub of generations of their large Italian American family. The room was modest, the walls covered with pictures of family and saints, the work table covered in a plastic cloth, olive oil decanted into an empty Aunt Jemima syrup bottle, utensils and dishes all well used and decades old. There were 4 generation in the room enjoying the process of making the video, talking about old times, showing the young great grandchildren how to cook. I thought about how “aesthetic” and “instagrammable” have been prioritized over this, the homely, the modest and thrifty, the functional, and how much poorer our culture is for this. I loved reading your post as I was thinking about this very idea. I will miss getting your writing!
I’ve always had a fascination with the Weasleys and the Burrow. Thank you for pinpointing the inner goodness 🥹 I read this last night and woke up thinking about your words and the Weasleys 🥰🙏🏻😘
Beautifully and thoughtfully written. Such a sweet and lovely sentiment! I plan to adopt this thought process to my everyday life. Thank you for writing! 🪄🤍✨
Couldn’t love this more. Brought tears to my eyes thinking how many times I’ve thought “I’d give anything to have grown up in a home like that” and then realize in our own way, we are doing just that for our kids.
Big fan of this idea. We don’t always have to be world builders who are hell-bent on “progress.” What if life was really about being present, experiencing what’s right in front of us, and enjoying where we are in each season. Reminds me a lot of my favorite movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Let’s build communities based on being good neighbors rather than competing to see who can have the finest… the best… the most.
What struck me most in The Grace of Enough was the three-hour community dinners where friendships grew and deepened and strangers were welcomed. Like the Weasley's backyard dinner!
We host a weekly open invite community dinner most weeks in our small, messy, lived-in-with-kids house. When we first started, eight years ago, we'd throw in oven pizzas and a couple friends might come over. Now, a couple weeks ago, we had thirty adults and ten kids, spilling out of our small house and into our small yard.
We invite families we meet at the library, neighbors walking dogs, and new people we see at church. My husband says I practice "attack friendship."
We're not a church or organization, my house is full of toys and the walls are covered in stickers, we're just regular people. Building caring Christian community is my life goal, and I'm blessed to get to see it grow in my own home. I think of Natasha from War & Peace, "Take out the furniture, put in the wounded." That's what I want to be the motto for how I use my home.
I was watching a video last night of a well know NYC pizza restaurant owner cooking chicken cutlets with his 90 year old grandmother in her kitchen, the hub of generations of their large Italian American family. The room was modest, the walls covered with pictures of family and saints, the work table covered in a plastic cloth, olive oil decanted into an empty Aunt Jemima syrup bottle, utensils and dishes all well used and decades old. There were 4 generation in the room enjoying the process of making the video, talking about old times, showing the young great grandchildren how to cook. I thought about how “aesthetic” and “instagrammable” have been prioritized over this, the homely, the modest and thrifty, the functional, and how much poorer our culture is for this. I loved reading your post as I was thinking about this very idea. I will miss getting your writing!
Love this so much.
Love this! Thank you! 😊 Will be back soon.
Yeeeees! I love the Weasleys so much!
I love this!!
Absolutely love this!!
I’ve always had a fascination with the Weasleys and the Burrow. Thank you for pinpointing the inner goodness 🥹 I read this last night and woke up thinking about your words and the Weasleys 🥰🙏🏻😘
And now I want to re-read Harry Potter with my eyes focused on the Weasleys. This was a great read!!
Beautifully and thoughtfully written. Such a sweet and lovely sentiment! I plan to adopt this thought process to my everyday life. Thank you for writing! 🪄🤍✨
You have to check out the old movie You Can’t Take It With You. It has a home that inspires me in the same way as the Weasleys
On my to-watch list!!
Couldn’t love this more. Brought tears to my eyes thinking how many times I’ve thought “I’d give anything to have grown up in a home like that” and then realize in our own way, we are doing just that for our kids.
So glad, Kristine!!
Hope it’s a fun school year for both the kids and yourself!
This is so lovely— thanks for writing!
So lovely! Very beautiful! I love the Weasleys!
Also, I used to have a food blog and had a written scone recipe I thought you’d like: https://cognitiveleeks.wordpress.com/2011/12/10/oatmeal-bacon-scones/
I cannot wait to try this 👀
Big fan of this idea. We don’t always have to be world builders who are hell-bent on “progress.” What if life was really about being present, experiencing what’s right in front of us, and enjoying where we are in each season. Reminds me a lot of my favorite movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Let’s build communities based on being good neighbors rather than competing to see who can have the finest… the best… the most.
Great piece, Gracy!
What struck me most in The Grace of Enough was the three-hour community dinners where friendships grew and deepened and strangers were welcomed. Like the Weasley's backyard dinner!
We host a weekly open invite community dinner most weeks in our small, messy, lived-in-with-kids house. When we first started, eight years ago, we'd throw in oven pizzas and a couple friends might come over. Now, a couple weeks ago, we had thirty adults and ten kids, spilling out of our small house and into our small yard.
We invite families we meet at the library, neighbors walking dogs, and new people we see at church. My husband says I practice "attack friendship."
We're not a church or organization, my house is full of toys and the walls are covered in stickers, we're just regular people. Building caring Christian community is my life goal, and I'm blessed to get to see it grow in my own home. I think of Natasha from War & Peace, "Take out the furniture, put in the wounded." That's what I want to be the motto for how I use my home.