So when we first moved from South Jersey to the Jersey Shore, we had an issue. The issue was that we needed to vacate our apartment in South Jersey, and the condo we were moving into “down the shore” wasn’t quite ready yet. So we threw our stuff in storage, and landed ourselves on a friends couch for a couple months.
We tried to help out with groceries and household chores, but as is always the case, I’m sure we were throwing off their routine just by being there, but it was never said out-loud. In fact, there were days when we were reminded of being welcomed in a way that was just beyond words, using random bacon.
See it was a thing that the matriarch of this family used to get up early, go to work before most anyone else woke up. When she came home in the late afternoon or sometimes late at night, she would often go striaght to bed because she was tired and not feeling well. She worked a retail job, day in and day out, and did what she needed for her family.
But on certain days we would get up, go into the kitchen to make breakfast to find “random bacon” in the microwave.
Always cooked fresh that morning, still warm even and not really needing re-heating, random bacon seemed like a great way to broadcast “we love you being here” and “we really care” without even needing to say so with words.
There were times that we would make random bacon the night before and leave it for the next days, in our own hopes of saying “thank you”.
As time has passed, and distance has grown, I still on occasion make random bacon for our little tribe here, but it’s not the same. We take the time to tell each other daily how much we love and respect each other, and how proud we are of each others accomplishments, so random bacon doesn’t mean as much (no matter how delicious it is).
We still communicate with our larger tribe via a text here and there, or a call now and again, but it’s been quite a while since I ran to her house to help with her doggie, and left a “Dog Log Log” for her to read when she gets home.
So with this note, I just wanted to say. I made random bacon today, it will be in our microwave waiting just in case you want to stop by.
-R
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