For the first two weeks of Merritt's NICU stay, dinnertime remained the only constant for us. I made sure to be home for that hour in an attempt to preserve a sense of normalcy, and family togetherness.
What's for dinner was the last thing on my mind after those long, long days inside the hospital walls. Lucky for us, beginning soon after Merritt was born, meals began to arrive at our doorstep. Dinner. Menu decided, ingredients purchased, prepared, packed, and delivered.
We were spoiled every other day (for two full weeks!) by a meal made with love by our best friends and family. Truth be told, good food warms my heart any time, but there's nothing better than looking forward to sitting 'round a dining room table of familiar faces and savoring the minutes while devouring the fruits of someone else's labor. Especially in hard times.
My friend Emily used Food Tidings to organize our meal tree. The site greatly simplifies the task of bringing nutritious food to the belly of someone in need, and it makes the effort easily accessible to those who are interested in helping. Check it out!
How wonderfully thoughtful of them to do that for you guys & I am sure that it made you be able to actually the hour that you had a home that much more.
ReplyDeleteAmazing idea!!
What an amazing support system your family has. And from the looks of all that food, they are good cooks too! I hope everyone is adjusting well to life at home :)
ReplyDeleteSounds like you have great friends! I think only two couples brought us food and one we don't even know very well!
ReplyDeleteWe have pretty normal, close family and friends and to be honest I was a little shocked at the lack of help/meals we got after she was born, just having read that "that's what people do" is bring food when a baby is born!
Frugal: I felt the same way when Roscoe was born--that we didn't really get the help that we needed/wanted. Part of the problem was that at the time we didn't know exactly what we needed/wanted and so when people offered the, "let me know how I can help" kind of help, we didn't communicate our needs very well.
ReplyDeleteOnce not long after Roscoe was born a friend of mine came by one morning and made me a full pancake breakfast--I'll always remember that. And a few other friends brought some meals by as well. I still remember the food, and how appreciative we felt. This time around I'm a lot smarter (lol) about what we might need, and I'm not afraid to take people up on their offers to help--even for small stuff that I might have felt silly accepting help for before.