It’s Not All About the Bread
A gratitude letter to the chosen family that everyone deserves
I feel this way about every single member of the chosen family I’ve had the privilege of growing up with here in LA. I’m my most present and connected when I’m with them, and in acknowledgement of how good it feels to know that their love is one of the truest and most stable parts of my life, I often find myself drifting off into space and watching the present moment as if I were looking back on it as one of my fondest memories.
It happens almost every time we’re all together, which is quite often, but last night it came with a personal realization tied to one very special member of this magical micro-community. It also happens to be her birthday…
We regard the way our relationships developed as some kind of miracle. A safe, inspiring, and embracing community is something most individuals design an entire life around finding and being born into one is something I never take for granted. But last night I realized that this community we’ve co-created isn’t exactly a miracle, but largely due to a behind-the-scenes engineering of a true community mastermind. It’s so obvious that it’s hard to see, but the characteristically feminine power of bringing people together is the reason why we are all experiencing life the way that we do, with a solid crew left after everyone else leaves the party.
Each of my chosen moms has done the work, and each of them have a uniquely influential superpower, but I think we can all agree that community building is Linda’s. Setting a time, place, and context for allowing us to experience each other in joy, in love, and in style and flavor has always been her forte.
Growing up I was always in awe of what we were creating. I followed food because I thought it was the secret recipe, and it’s certainly a big part of our story at least, but as I put more attention into the science of community both personally and professionally, I see how important it is to do the work — to buy the best bread and hang the right lights while keeping the focus and intention on bringing people to their best and spreading extreme love. It’s the biggest gift I’ve ever received and the biggest gift I hope to give.
