It tastes better when you work for it. Yesterday we were celebrating an unofficial housewarming for some good friends, and someone was explaining to me the virtues of grilling. On a typical day he sets aside three hours, notifies his family of his absence, gets some music together and settles in for a relaxing afternoon of grilling. I was convinced when I tasted the smoked ribs, crab legs, chicken, beef, all of it was just fall off the bone delicious. It sure tasted different than anything I’ve ever grilled. Perhaps it was the time, or care and attention to detail that made the difference. But I kept coming back to this phrase…It tastes better when you work for it. Isn’t this true of all success? I’m just grateful that I got to partake of the good food without the three hours of labor that went into it. Now that’s friendship!

Yesterday tasted good for my stomach and my soul. We were there to celebrate our friends who just moved into their dream home, and it was magnificent. I still can’t stop smiling I’m so happy for them. It’s a beautiful thing to see the people you love win. It’s even better when you know a part of their story and understand the journey it took to get there. So as we sat outside watching the kids (between the 3 families, there are 14 kids) play well into the night running around the land, it felt like a legacy moment. We envisioned the future together, parties at the house, adventures in the nine acres of forestland on the property, our next pursuit of the remaining 31 acres and a mule. We reflected on how big the kids were growing and how fast it all seemed to be happening.

Every time we get together we always capture an iconic picture of all the kids lined up in a row. It’s sort of our thing to mark the passage of time. With the kids getting older and lives becoming busier, there are longer gaps in between our gatherings. So the pictures really are a keepsake of moments in time. This time no one remembered to get a picture (as far as I know). We were caught up in the moment I guess.

SDW3

A few of the pics through the years…