I donโt even know where to begin on this one. Below is an actual exchange between two working moms (who I donโt know! And who arenโt related to me!) coordinating their visits to the designated office breast-pumping room. My editor forwarded it to me with the instruction that I was only allowed to post it here word-for-word if I promised not to reveal their real names or place of business. (All I can tell you is that their place of business had an advance copy of Dinner: A Love Story.) What do I like more? Their enviable working-mom camaraderie (my coworkers and I all had post-its on our doors like the one you see above, which I found in one of the girlsโ baby books); or that one of their kids is โso into cooking with herโ (jealous!); or the cereal-for-dinner bit (hilarious); or the fact that two moms found the book helpful enough to discuss while coordinating breast-pumping for their newborns???? Itโs a tough one.
From: Lisa
Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2012 3:48 PM
To: Andrea
Subject: RE:Shoot I %#ed up. Youre going in at 4 right? Will you let me know when youre all done? Thank you. . .
From: Andrea
Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2012 3:49 PM
To: LisaYou want to go now? As long as Iโm in by 4:15 im still good.
From: Lisa
Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2012 03:49 PM
To: Andrea
Bless you! Ill be faster than thatโill email you.
From: Lisa
Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2012 4:08 PM
To: Andrea
Go!
From: Andrea
Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2012 4:10 PM
To: Lisa
Boo ya! Thanks! P.S. I made the bolognese sauce and apricot mustard baked chicken from the DALS cookbook. AMAZING. Also my daughter and I had a great time making the galette. Sheโs so into cooking with me now. She helps me every night. (Even last night when we had cereal with strawberries.)
If you are interested in receiving an advance readerโs copy of the book, please Like DALS on facebook. Iโll be giving one away over there in the next few days.
adore this. i cannot tell you how much more social i was as a breastpumping mom than i am now. i had to use a โlocker roomโ which was actually a bathroom with a partition, then a bench, a mirror, a shelf, a shower stall and a few unused lockers. so many people would come back there to use the bathroom in privacy, make phone calls away from their desks, take pregnancy tests (really!).
I cannot wait for your book to come out!
Youโre right, that camaraderie is awesome. Canโt wait for the book!
The cereal with strawberries is definitely my favorite part especially because my dinners are looking m ore and more like that the busier we get. I really need your book!!!
Ha ha ha ha! This is so great!
I want to try apricot chicken too!
Love this! Just read it on my iphone while I was pumping. How perfect is that?! Just wish I had a copy of DALS to browse for inspiration for dinner tonightโฆ
JBS: Wow, that IS perfect.
Imagine my (pleasant) surprise when I pulled up DALS while I took my pumping break at work and saw this post. Love.
Love this! I am pumping now and got a good laugh not only at the pumping post, but because I shared some cheerios and blueberries with my 8 month old for dinner last night :0 My male coworker who sits in the office next to me is so attuned to my pumping schedule that he asked me this morning why I hadnโt pumped yetโฆ I guess men want in on the camraderie too???? Canโt wait for the book!
All right โ this is getting kind of funny. How much do I love that DALS is the official website of the pumping post.
Love it! All working/pumping moms should definitely check out the book The Milk Memos. Itโs basically a book-length version of the email exchange and note above. Really great.
That exchange is so awesome, and so are all the comments! I, too, canโt wait for the cookbook. When did you start cooking with your kids? Iโve tried to include my daughter a little bit (sheโs 19 mo) but itโs kind of a challenge at this point.
While Iโm sure a majority of your audience really digs your recent posts, Iโm looking forward to when the focus shifts back to dinner/recipes.
Angela โ But donโt you see? Itโs all dinner. I would argue that this post has more to do with dinner (how you strategize, where you get your ideas, etc) than Andyโs 20-minute fettucine recipe posted four days ago. But I wonโt. Iโll just say, donโt worry, some more recipes coming down the pike as always. In the meantime, donโt forget to refer to the index where you will find over 300 ideas for what to make tonight. https://promoavenue.info/recipes/%3C/p%3E
Hi Jenny โ I do see and agree that, technically, it is all dinner. However, I expect that each one of us relies on your blog for different reasons. We have older kids that are with us part time and have developed a strategy that works for us, so that element is less important for us personally. For us, your recipes, and the stories that support them, are like gold! Alas, Iโll shut up now. Have a great weekend.
This made me smile. Just a few years ago, when I was feeding my now 3-year-old, I felt very alone when nursing in public. Things certainly have changed and I am glad people are so supportive to young mothers! I enjoy your blog, thanks for posting!
Oh I loved this. Brought back memories when I and my two colleagues all pumped with our offices next to each other. Weโd schedule all of our conference calls for this time and just lock our doors. Everyone knew that if the door was closed they had better not knock.