Less than a year ago, Matt and Kristin had their second child, Luke. One day I called and asked if I could bring over a pot of soup and some bread so that Kristin might not have to fix dinner. Kristin welcomed the suggestion and a short time later I was at her front door with a simple soup. Kristin opened the door holding Luke who was crying. I offered to hold him for a bit. And immediately I started bouncing him and cooing and soon he’d stopped his crying.
Kristin thought that I was a miracle worker – but I know that Luke probably just “knew” that something had changed and he was tuning in to figure out what it was. Maybe he could tell that my scent was different than the one he was used to smelling. Certainly my voice was different. And perhaps Kristin didn’t bounce the same way I did. Whatever it was, Luke noticed.
It was about 22 years ago that I had my own screaming baby. For almost three months my darling daughter cried every night – for hours. My friend Dana suggested that she might be lactose intolerant and that since I was nursing, I should eliminate dairy foods from my diet. I could not believe that my baby would have trouble eating dairy. And I held to that misguided belief for three months. And then, I decided I would limit my dairy intake – actually, by then I would have tried almost anything because I was exhausted. Guess what? My baby stopped crying within 48 hours. It was that simple. Damn if I wasn’t wrong about the “benefits of milk.”
About a month ago, Matt called to ask if I could babysit the boys for an evening (I’d offered to do so months before) and I agreed. But then I asked how heavy Luke was. I had just remembered that my broken rib would get in the way of picking up this baby and I had to say no – or at least – not now.
While I was out for my walk this morning I thought of Matt and Kristin and their beautiful boys and thought “I want to bring them a pie.” But I wanted it to be a “helpful” pie and so it turned out to be a spinach, sausage and pepper quiche.
Tonight I send my very best wishes to Matt and Kristin and the boys – may their days be long and full of love.
There is only one pretty child in the world, and every mother has it. ~Chinese Proverb
Pie a Day Give Away 
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