1 Month of Meals in the Company of Others
Week 1
The idea is simple. Don’t eat a meal alone for thirty days. Or rather, enjoy all my meals in the company of friends, family, and total strangers.
While taking a solo picnic at Greenlake park in Seattle, I suddenly found myself asking why I was eating alone. It wasn’t that I felt bad, it was a good meal with a good view, but this time felt strange. As I watched the happy people enjoying the park I thought how I was treating my food as pure sustenance while ignoring the other ways meals can nourish. I’m thinking mainly about all those beautiful little joys that come with a meal in the company of others, the yums, the surprises, the opportunities to give and take, time spent reconnecting, shared enjoyment of something well made.
I started considering what it would take to enjoy every meal with others in my life and quickly realized I only had to try. So it was decided.
I’d yet to know that trying this line of thinking would mean reorienting my entire schedule and time towards this commitment. But here it goes, one week at a time.
First, I must preference by saying I quickly realized I have already shared almost every meal with people for more than just a month on several occasions in my life. This happens largely at research stations or field camps where cooking is a communal affair or regularly scheduled event that everyone participates in. This had been just a fact of life. Looking back on those experiences I remembered the good food and fun that went into eating together, but there hadn’t been any intentional effort. Only now I begin to realize how much that practice of shared dining positively affected my life, and how I want that to be my norm.
This time would be different. I was on my own.
Day 1
Oblivious to my looming resolution I spent breakfast with my friend Katie at her place after she and her boyfriend Ian hosted me for the night. Many cups of coffee later and we’d each made progress on our separate projects.
Later I left her place to run errands, buying food at Trader Joe’s as an afterthought. I drove to Greenlake for a scenic spot to exercise and enjoy the meal. Picking through my quinoa salad, I missed the company of people like Katie, and those good coworkers I had left in Alaska after many fantastic meals shared. How hard could it be to take every meal with others? I was nomad, I should have the freedom to do it.
My friend Chris called me hours later, inviting me over to eat Paninis with him and hang out. See, there’s nothing to it. Chris has already eaten by the time I arrive, but he makes me a stellar panini and talks while I eat so I think this counts.
Day 2

After crashing on Chris’ couch, his girlfriend Nina makes us some breakfast Paninis, while I gather my Trader Joe’s groceries in preparation for a little picnic together later.
After some rock climbing together at Anacortes, Lunch is dreamy, sourdough, bing cherries, chocolate, hard cheese, and jam, while we sit sweaty in the shade of the rock face looking out over the water in Anacortes.
I return in time for me to meet good friends for poetry club and have Phoh together afterwards. A perfect day, this is going to be easy.
Day 3

I wake up late and hungry. Everyone at my friend’s home where I Camp in the backyard is gone or already have eaten. I’m going to have to rise with the working folk if I can continue this challenge. I need to do better. Toast, eggs, and coffee on my own.
I call Katie about lunch and she invites me over for left over stew, tortillas, and red bell pepper. We talk easily and she helps answer my questions on what to do with my life. I listen. After we walk to Fainting Goat where I buy us some afogado as thanks for lunch. It’s awesome and huge. I realize part of sharing meals together is about reciprocation, surprising and delighting each other with small gifts and favors.
I meet an old college acquaintance for happy hour, but she isn’t very hungry so we only get drinks. After she leaves I realize I need to eat dinner with someone and I can’t go home because I’m going dancing shortly. I wander around looking for places with communal seating but nothing looks promising. Finally I buy pizza at Big Marios, but there’s no one there to eat with. Wandering the street with my slices of pizza I spot Real Change vendor Mike and offer him some pizza. He tells me about his time as a vendor on the streets of Seattle and we munch cheap yummy pizza before parting ways. Where there’s a will.
Day 4
I woke up late again but Bryan is home to eat a bit of food with me. Around lunch I go to yoga and realize I again have no one to eat with. I drove UW campus and walk around my old department building but no one is around. Dan finally answers my messages and says he’s home from work early. We make lunch and dinner and he teaches me what to do with a golf club in between before catching up at Greenlake. A fine day.

Day 5
I’m flying to Denver today and only manage to have breakfast with Bryan. I end up eating a quick microwave lunch and feeling guilty about it before catching the train to the airport. In Denver I arrive late. I’d snacked on the plane and end up eating little for dinner. I guess if I don’t take a meal at all it doesn’t count against me?
Day 6
My close friend Emily and I stay at her friend Audrey’s house in Denver where she makes us smoothie bowls. I find the format startling but cautiously assent. Many crunchy and sweet delicious things are placed over a very thick smoothie concoction.
For lunch we get amazing tacos, gazpacho, roast corn, and drinks at BarTaco in Boulder with Audrey’s dad Mike. My second meal with a Mike this week. He steals the day by paying for us all. Thanks so much Mike.
We end at Audrey’s friend Carl’s home high in the mountains by Nederland. Carl has prepared a rich spread for a party, we share good food and more introductions than I can remember, ending the night with drinks around the fire.
Day 7

Audrey bakes some cookie dough from home for breakfast. We read and drink coffee before heading out to visit Rocky Mountain National Park. Brunch is taken at a halfway point, the Mountain Meadow cafe. Few cafes have ever been so tucked away and so delightful. They were out of half of everything good but we got the other half and drove on content and over caffeinated as can be. Back at Carl’s, dinner brought back fond memories of traveling in Spain, Spanish tortilla and roast broccoli. With more cookies of course. I relished the time with Emily, happy to have made such great new friends.
One week down and the meals have been memorable! I hope this post has given you some ideas, please clap if you like and more weeks of shared meals and reflections to come.


