Table for 4

I grew up in a large family. It was not unusual for there to be 8 to 10 people at our dinner table on any given night. My mom was cooking for a small battalion most of the time.

Today, I decided to make grilled pizza again. This always turns into a major production, as each of us has our own pizza variations to concoct, and by the time a fourth pizza gets onto the charcoal grill, the coals are almost ash.

I snapped this photo as I was about to sit down and eat my pizza. I found it funny how you could tell the order of the cooking process. I was also appalled that my daughter was on her phone, sending photos of her pizza around the globe when I had not even had the opportunity to slice mine up with the kitchen shears.

Earlier this evening, one of my fellow writers announced that one of her children may be terminally ill. This news made me realize how fortunate I am to have two healthy daughters. Last Fall, my older daughter was deathly ill with a blood infection that ravaged her small body. I became a protective lioness, ready to rip the throat of anyone who came near her without proper credentials. It was a month I care not to relive.

My love and prayers are with my friend and her family, across the sea in Europe, as she awaits news from doctors. Please do me a favor, and pray for her to have positive news. Her name is Hannah and she is a writer who just released her first novel. She is a single mom and a lovely woman.

May her table remain full.