Fish, friends and family

This weekend we took a breather from the normally scheduled work and holiday prep to spend the day at the farm.  It wasn't a holiday event, or one that helped in any way prepare for the holiday plans in the coming weeks and so I was a little worried that I had committed an entire day that I couldn't afford to spend doing "nothing."

And it turned out to be just the thing that we all needed.  My better half got to spend some quality time with some of his friends in the great outdoor spaces that we aren't afforded in the city.  And our girl was the only kiddo in residence so she got to enjoy a little time in the limelight. And we all got a little breather on the cusp of the holiday craze.

We were collectively a motley "family" of neighbors, colleagues, college friends and family. We fried fish that the neighbor caught over the summer, told stories of our weeks work, ate brownies, discussed the coming holiday plans, drank strong coffee to ward off the chilly weather, retold some old family stories, told a few new ones and basically enjoyed a relaxed afternoon in good company.

"Here, fishy, fishy."

I have a lovely friend who wrote recently about how important it is to spend time with people who satisfy that basic, human need for companionship, camaraderie and love.  What was so compelling was her reminder that how you are bound to people isn't the important part - be it family or colleague, old college room mate or neighbor. It's recognizing who those people are and making time to spend with them. Saturday served as a good reminder of how fortunate we are to have each other.

So my lessons for the weekend were (1) take time out from the insane holiday prep schedule to enjoy something or better yet, nothing at all, (2) time spent with good people is never wasted and (3) filet the  fish super thin... it makes the best fried fish in the world.