Week 109: Sharing Easter
By: Aaron Charles
Tags: Cooking, Short Story, Family, Food, Easter

Big family get-togethers always have the extra level of special, right? All the planning and care, the travel and then the special moments with those that are closest to us. These are the times when lasting memories get made. They often coincide with holidays. This Easter was one of those times for us. Sarah and I had the distinct pleasure of going over to her brother’s house and sharing a meal with him and his family. And we got to do some cooking to boot!

Creative Spins and Complementing Roles

Let me tell you something that probably won’t surprise you one bit — Sarah is the one who most often comes up with the recipes. I’m always amazed at how she finds a new recipe each week and finds ways to put her own creative spin on things.

I enjoy being along for the ride and helping out where I can. But make not mistake, Sarah’s the brains behind this operation. This week, she came up with a doozy of a recipe for a crispy potato roast with bacon.

I enjoy doing the grocery shopping, so that’s where my role comes in. It works out well because…well…Sarah’s not a huge fan of grocery shopping. One of the many beautiful things about marriage is that, while we remain two distinct individuals, our unique likes and skills can merge together beautifully. It takes some work to find the right mixture at times, but that’s what marriage is all about.

This week was a little different, though, in that we prepped all the food at Matt and Andrea’s house. So I did the grocery shopping on Saturday, and we just took everything over after church on Sunday. Then, we sprung into action.

Our complementing roles carry over into the cooking, too. Sarah is still the brains, of course. But instead of the designated shopper, I turn into the sous chef. I really enjoy this because, when it comes to manual tasks, I like being told what to do and then being allowed to go do it. So, Sarah gives me a task — clean the potatoes, put the veggie tray on the table, put the onions in between the potato slices — and then I go and do it. It’s always fun to see how the recipe comes together when we both work on it at the same time. Our various tasks merge together until we arrive at a finished whole.

It also helped that we had the sweet little voices of my niece and nephew calling to us from the next room. The aroma of cooking food mixes well with games on the living room floor.

Gathering Around the Table

There’s just something about eating together with family at a table. Hearts are filled right alongside bellies. Loving conversation and passing plates. Sunlight streaming through the window at bright eyes and warm smiles.

My sister-in-law, Andrea, made a pot roast that was absolutely INCREDIBLE. And Sarah’s potatoes were a huge hit. It’s times like these when I have no qualms about going back for seconds. Aaaannnnd even thirds.

It’s times like these when I’ll take all the extra helpings. Pile these days on my plate and savor them.

Each one of us had helped prepare the food at the table somehow, and the kids had worked up a sweat playing! Now we all were able to share in the joy of savoring this Easter meal together, and that was special indeed.

The Gift that Keeps on Giving

Along with the potatoes, Sarah had also prepped a dessert the night before. It was an Easter-themed dessert mix with pretzel sticks, Chex cereal, Cheerios and Hersey’s candy-coated eggs. Oh, and all of it was covered in white chocolate.