Food is Love

Here's the thing. If you are celebrating an important life event -- THERE WILL BE FOOD INVOLVED. Think about it.  We EAT to celebrate.

Birthdays, weddings, graduations -- if your family is doing it right -- THERE WILL BE FOOD.

And my family REALLY DOES IT RIGHT. We are excellent cooks. It's in our DNA...and we all have our specialties. I make terrific pesto. Ronda's family loves her Swiss Steak, and Deena is known for her homemade rolls. We all enjoy cooking -- and our kids enjoy eating. And that all came together for Ross's graduation party.

Ronda and Dean did the fish and french fries right outside of the barn, in their giant outdoor gas fryer. Ronda made homemade tartar sauce...and it was all DELICIOUS.

There was a large platter of fresh fruit, some healthy choice salads, my Mom's version of Cowboy Beans in the crock pot...

We mix up the kids with the adults...and everybody ATE AND CHATTED...it was a wonderful time for us.

It was a big group, and when I was ordering the cake, I told Deena I was going to buy ice cream, and she said "No way. It'll be homemade. This is for Ross..."

My favorite picture of the day...Ross with his Aunt Ronda and Aunt Deena

Ross was surprised, that's for sure. And he was STUNNED that people gave him cards with money. He almost felt bad -- like it was unearned. A few days after the party, he told me he was thinking of using the money to make a charitable donation. I about flipped. 'DON'T YOU DARE. THAT'S ALMOST AN INSULT. USE THE MONEY TO BUY YOURSELF SOMETHING YOU WILL HAVE FOR MANY YEARS. It was a gift TO YOU, ROSS. Buy something you will treasure."

At the end, he used the party money to buy himself a very nice Bulova watch. And he had it engraved.  He wouldn't tell me what the inscription was, I'd have to wait until he got the watch back.

You can imagine my reaction when he handed me the watch, and I turned it over to read these words:

                                                                  Fried Fish 
                                                                      and 
                                                        Homemade Ice Cream