“Eating was normalcy and, more than that, it was hope.
If I could eat, I could live.
One nurse called her spicy.
Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
The second thing: a week after Wonder Girls birth, the popular Netflix showStranger Thingspremiered.
These two events seem unrelated, I know.
Sometimes, if I stopped, Wonder Girl would begin yelping, angry that the lulling motion had ceased.
I began seeing shadows where there were none.
Lights seemed to flicker in our hallways.
Like theStranger Thingskids, I wanted to scream, Where are all the grown-ups here?
For a few weeks, I wasnt able to diagnose my postpartum depression.
Id never suffered from intense anxiety or depression before; just a low-grade dissatisfaction that I couldnt identify.
We ordered delivery nearly every single night, and it was weeks before any fresh produce passed my lips.
I wrote, Ive never been so tired in my life.
Also, Im starving.
N. texted back, Im booking a flight and Im bringing burritos.
We would not go hungry on their watch.
Weeks later, they appeared on our doorstep with a toddler strapped to their back.
Seeing those tortillas sparked my first prickle of tears.
If I could eat, I could live.
N. was in charge of the mashed beans and rice.
I cut tomatoes and sauteed bell peppers.
Together, we dug in while blaring Simon and Garfunkel, as we used to during our college days.
We wrapped 29 burritos in all, making a race out of it.
On the last burritothe 30th, I noticed something crawling near the rice.
Thats the thing about being around someone whos known you for decades.
They can sense your needs without words.
I didnt ask N. to fly across the country with a toddler and a suitcase full of burrito supplies.
I didnt have to.
So 29 burritos went in our freezer, all tightly wrapped in aluminum foil.
It sort of worked.
To my great sorrow, N. left for California eventually, but they werent really gone.
Over an endless string of text messages, we continued to brainstorm ideas for addressing colic and ant infestations.
We told ourselves that if we could make it to 29 burritos, wed be okay.
Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
