No Special Occasion

The other night for dinner hubby and I had take out from one of our favorite Italian places, Anthony’s. It’s a little pricy, so we usually only go there for special occasions, but we had both been craving it and their food is pretty amazing. We haven’t been there since before the pandemic, so like my hubby said, why not treat ourselves. I got one of my favorite dishes, the Chicken Parmesan dinner. What you don’t see is the nice Caesar salad, garlic bread (and there was lots of it) and mozzarella sticks….. it wouldn’t all fit in the picture… not to mention I was very hungry and didn’t pause to take more camera shots of all the other goodies. I think I ate half of the bread before I even finished taking the picture of the chicken parm and spaghetti.

Before the pandemic, hubby and I liked to go out for dinner every now and then, nothing fancy mind you, but just to try something different or just to get out and enjoy ourselves. Most of the time I make us dinner at home because, as you know, I do love to cook, but who doesn’t like to go out and have some one else make you a fabulous meal. So when everything came to halt we started doing take out when we wanted something more and to help our local restaurants. Now that most restaurants are reopened down here, we have gone out a few times. We still enjoy it, but to be honest, we still do take out more times than going out right now.

So as we are sitting at our dinning room table, that we really only eat at when we have people over….before Covid, the table all set for just the two of us and enjoying dinner, it made me stop and think that despite how times have changed for all of us, we have adapted. The world sometimes seems crazy, impossible and even at times disheartening, but we’ve learned to carry on and reflect on what is really important to us. We’ve found ways to enjoy life at a slower pace, to remember the little things that we used to take for granted. To remember what once made us smile before we got so busy and got caught up in everything else around us instead of what we had right here at home. There are still moments that can be overwhelming, but I remind myself to take a breath, and focus on what I have in front of me. I think sometimes we all need to remember that. So, although this nice dinner wasn’t for a special occasion, in a way it is. Maybe we should treat all of the little things, all of those small moments in our lives that we once felt were nothing special as….well….. special. Enjoy every moment with the ones you love and make everyday a special occasion.