Bag Lunch

I went back to the Northeast to hang out with my family (on my mom's side) last week. It was a wonderful trip, even though it was way too short. My sister and I had two nights out on the town in Boston. We gorged ourselves on lobster, chowder, italian food, and we met up with two of my closest friends from high school, Emily and Gretchen. I love returning home. I love catching up with people that I'm so close to that it doesn't matter how long we've been apart. Somehow, whenever I see my high school friends, and, of course my family, it's like we haven't skipped a beat. There are more babies to meet, and more stories to share, but there are not hard feelings about being gone for so long.

And, oh, how I love lobster...

After Boston, Jess and I took a bus to Springfield where we were picked up by my mom. We drove to Northampton to stay with Lynne and Bob, and we were greeted by our hosts and by a wonderful meal. We also were reunited with Tina and Andrew and Molly and Abby. The entire Veatch clan.

Later the Gates arrived many of us got to meet Anya for the first time.

So wonderful.

But, the purpose of this blog is to discuss the bag lunch that I was given when I left for the airport. Lynne and Bob put together a wonderful sandwich with a side of grapes, a chunk of brie (i'm guessing here...maybe it was camembert, but whatever...it was great!) and a collection of walnuts...and of course, for dessert, a piece of my mom's zucchini bread. I held onto it through both of my flights as though it were some precious gift, which to me it was. Something about how the Veatchs can take a simple meal and turn it into a gourmet feast. Even more so than the lobster and the chicken marsala in the North End of Boston. It's silly, I know, but it's the sort of thing that reminds me how lucky I am to have such a wonderful and talented family.