exception proves the rule

Over the past year or two I've noticed a trend that when Brandon is out of town (which he fairly often is for his business) I halt all cooking and cleaning. I scrounge leftovers or eat out with friends, whatever dishes were left by the sink will stay there for days until perhaps I consider cleaning up before he gets home. I sort of revert into a college dorm mode.
Brandon is out of town for the next two nights plus I have a cold, so when he didn't take his turn with the dishes last night I fully expected them to be there awaiting his return on Thursday. However tonight we recieved a plentiful variety of CSA veggies including a quart sized baggie stuffed with basil which we decided should become a group batch of pesto. It would have been nice to get together and make it, but it didn't look like that was going to work this week so I offered to make it myself since I've done it several times and happened to have pine nuts in the fridge. I also found myself mentioning the fact that the broccoli stems no one wanted along with the carrot tops and any other scraps could be boiled to make veggie stock so I ended up taking those home too.
When I got home I still wasn't sure I had the ambition to clean up the kitchen and tackle these two tasks, but I needed to put the veggies away which meant some reorganization of the fridge and checking over the veggies from last week so I started throwing the wilted leaves, carrot tops, and various stems in a pot, added a couple cloves of garlic and an onion and put my 10 qt. pot on to boil. While that was cooking I made the pesto and started cleaning up the mess I'd already made. But then I remembered a conversation yesterday about granola with dried cherries and chocolate chips so I made that too. Now all is cleaned up, the broth is cooling and the granola is in the oven.
But this unusual night cooking home alone got me thinking about why I cook and clean or don't when no one is around. Cooking in particular is not something I do for myself. About the most I'd do on my own is boil water for macaroni and cheese. Even the things I made tonight I made with the idea of sharing in mind. A lot of the pesto will be brought to my CSA friends and probably the stock as well, and the granola is a new recipie chosen based on Brandon's comments about the one I've been using recently. Sure I'll enjoy some as I enjoy most of the foods I make, but without someone to share it with I don't really see a point in taking all that time. Plus there's somethings it's just impractical to make just for me, or even just me and Brandon. So I'm just waiting for someone to throw a little party so I can bring that broccoli salad with bacon and raisins in it that Megan reminded me of tonight. (What is that called?)
I'm convinced food is for sharing. Despite all the convenience we have today, a meal of quality that takes someone's skill and time is something I think (hope!) we all instinctively appreciate sharing with others. That's why we sit down at restaurants, throw dinner parties, and even invite over those piteous college students who we imagine are usually stuck with cafeteria food or ramen noodles. There is something about food and home and friends and family that makes us feel home. That's why I think Jesus clearly demonstrates his genius understanding of humanity when he shared bread and wine with his friends and asked them to remember him each time they gather. Our celebration of the Lord's Supper should be like coming home to Mom making your favorite meal after a long absence- a celebration of reconnection that you can smell, touch, and taste.