Wow! Mom, his name is in the food...

There are so many ways in which our family has been cared for these past ten months, I could easily write for days as I acknowledge those who have found thoughtful ways to show us their support, this post is for one of those dear friends, Sloppy Joe!

Now, don't get the wrong impression, Joe is not a sloppy guy; in fact he is one of the most meticulous people I know. One day, I was rummaging through a box of files from a project launch that was accomplished nearly ten years ago, searching for some detailed information, and I found the lunch order for the team who was working on the project, complete with names, sandwich orders, and important condiment preferences like: with or without mayo noted. Joe has always been very thorough.

Joe also knows that juggling school aged kids, getting homework done, running a household, and holding a full time job leaves parents feeling like they ran a marathon most days. Add to that equation a parent with physical limitations, or an illness and you've got even greater challenges.

I learned a lot from Joe over the years both personally and professionally. I used to chuckle when he could tell me precisely how long it took for one of his boys to brush his teeth, and how many minutes he had to quiz them in the car on the way to school, to be sure they were prepared for the weekly spelling tests. He had the routine down to a science, and before long I found myself using these strategies to run my own daily marathon.

Although Joe had so much on his plate already, he often took the time to prepare an extra batch of whatever meal he was preparing for his own family and bring it in for me to take home to my family. Complete with salad, sides, bread, dessert, and heating instructions carefully taped to the main dish, Joe delivered several delicious, kid friendly meals!

My family raved about all of the dinners, and especially loved his Ghirardelli brownies with the chocolate chunks, but my favorite response came from our youngest the first time he made us Sloppy Joes. Wow! Mom, his name is in the food! She was clearly impressed!

Joe, this one's for you! Thank you for the many delicious meals; you will always come to mind whenever we have Sloppy Joe's...