Haiti Dinner Summer 2013

Tonight was our 5th Annual Summer “Haiti Dinner”!!!

We put Meera to bed early, made the traditional Haitian Steak Frites (what a labor of love!), and the four of us enjoyed a delicious and magical dinner together. This meal is always so amazing for us. Tonight was no exception. In fact, incredibly, it seems to get better every year (both the actual food, and the conversation). There is something so special about this night for us each year.

I remember thinking — when we were deciding to sell our old house — about this specific annual tradition. I can vividly remember thinking, “Oh my gosh!? What would it be like to have our Haiti Dinner someplace other than this house?!” It felt scary and foreign to me. And then I remember when we were in the process of renting this South Carolina Beach house… “Oh my! This would be where we’d have our Haiti Dinner. What would that be like?!”

Tonight we did it. It felt good and right and perfectly perfect. It was, in fact, I must admit, better than ever. We talked about it at dinner — when I confessed my original thoughts and anxieties about what it would be like to have our Haiti Dinner someplace other than the old house. We all agreed that it made no difference– if anything, it was the best this year– that it actually doesn’t matter one bit where we are, as long as we’re together doing it. We all four expressed hopes and dreams for the future, including many “Haiti Dinners” in the future… and where they take place doesn’t factor one bit into any of our visions.

Home is where the heart is. And, L’Union Fait La Force (“Unity Makes Strength.”)

I’m sure this kind of post seems sappy and over-the-top and pathetically-mushy-gushy-unreal-rainbows-and-sparkles to many. But I have to be honest in my portrayal of these things. And, honestly, this is how it is for us. Not always. But we do have our moments (good and bad, and the good — not the bad — most often show up on this blog). The day wasn’t perfect, we had lots of flaws and mishaps and stuff-to-work on. There were rough edges and issues. I lost my cool more than once when the bambinos were disobedient and disrespectful. I had my moments of questioning our existence and my sanity. But here, on the blog, I try to recount the best of our moments to remember — the anchors in our storm, and the very best versions of ourselves. Because these are the moments I want to string together in our memories as we stitch together our lives. This annual tradition is one of those moments.

A couple of minutes into our dinner, Owen asked us to take this picture, so we did (photo below). It isn’t always clear why they want a picture taken, but they ask often. And often those pictures show up on this blog. Tonight, Owen asked us to take the photo, and said something about how he wanted this picture on the blog so that everyone could see that he got to have a Perrier with dinner (a treat), after having had a ginger ale as his pre-dinner cocktail (another treat). He was proud of his two-carbonated-drink-evening. He was also, I think, feeling on top of the world– very proud of his Haitian heritage, and loving his steak. Here’s the pic:

For the back-story on this annual dinner for us, click here — CLICK!