Modern Notebook

Last night, after sitting down to the dinner I had made for myself, my 5-year-old and my 10-month-old, I started thinking about how we were eating what I will call a “same, same, different” meal. We were almost done eating but I took some phone photos any way.

It’s generally easier to make just one meal for everyone and not multiple things, so I try to do that. I try not to cater to my 5-year-old’s requests more than I would like to. But hey, she’s a kid and given the option of having plain noodles, the girl would like plain noodles. If I combine a few categories of food on her plate, such as protein, vegetables and grains in a heap, she doesn’t always like that. So, I kindly asked, “Would you like your foods together or separate,” knowing what the answer would be. She looked at me as if to say, “Wow, you’re actually asking me,” and said separate in an excited tone.

This Valentine’s Day, a Wednesday in which my husband was working and I was not, we did not go out which I don’t mind one bit. But I tried to make the day a little special by making noodles and salad. Are noodles and salad special? I don’t know. Never mind, I would have made that holiday or not. But it was a good dinner. Paul and I had the capellini noodles with a quick sauce of jarred pesto sauce and ricotta cheese. Noah had his noodles with a little pesto, no ricotta. Maggie had her noodles plain, as requested. Paul and I had salad with chicken on top. The kids were served sides of peas and chicken.

This “same, same, different” dinner made me pause and later think of how sometimes it feels as though my life is moving slowly, but it’s still changing. I’m not reaching the goals I set for myself as quickly as I would like. But I’m also “same, same, different.” I’m still a writer, even if I haven’t written in a while. I’m still me, but growing and changing. I can look back over the past couple years and remember how. It’s okay to be the same, and it’s okay to be different.