On Friday, I joined with people across America, and around the world, in again reliving the tragic losses of 9/11.
Yet on the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attack on our nation, I also found myself thinking about dinner. Not just any dinner. Rather, a unique gathering of family and friends that I hosted for 20 years on the First Sunday of every month--- beginning October 6, 2001.
Why? Looking back at the September 21, 2001 email I sent to 60-plus people, this is how I began:
๐ซ๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐,
๐ท๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐โ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐. ๐ณ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐, ๐ฐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ 9/11. ๐จ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐-๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐, ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐. ๐พ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐.
What the rest of that email contained was my First Sunday Dinner Plan---where I invited everyone to come to my home on the first Sunday of each month for no other reason than to share a meal and enjoy each otherโs company.
That was the only invitation I ever sent out (other than to newcomers) with the only condition being that everyone bring a dish to share and what they wanted to drink.
While life occasionally got in the way of these dinners, for 20 years most every First Sunday I welcomed anywhere from 8-to-48 people to my dining room table(s). And while I imagined the tradition continuing forever, the day came---twenty years almost to the day of 9.11---that I sold my home and had to host the final First Sunday Dinner. These pictures are from that gathering.
Throughout those more than 200 dinners, new people were welcomed and longtime attendees passed or moved away. Yet the joy of joining together and sharing a meal formed cherished connections and memories for all of us.
On Friday, while I spent time immersed in the images of the unimaginable tragedies of 25 years ago, I also took heart in looking at these photos of that final First Sunday Dinner--a tradition born from sorrow and pain---that became a bonding life lesson on the blessings of sharing a meal.
#HeartandSoulStoryteller
