One household of my cousins grew up with limited menu options as each child had some sort of food allergy: one with seafood, one with poultry (yes, that includes chicken) and one with a milk intolerance. As a result, my poor Aunt was pretty much limited to finding creative ways to serve beef and pork on a rotating basis. Honestly, I can’t even imagine my life without chicken in the rotation. But this set of circumstances rendered the youngest child able to say, “there ain’t a part of the pig I don’t love.”
Whether wrapping something in bacon or enjoying a good hot ham & cheese (and apple! she introduced me to it- try it!) sandwich, Rebecca loves herself some pig. I’m curious if, like the Native Americans and a buffalo, she were to be a pig farmer on the plantation if she’d find a way to consume the whole animal in a tasty fashion.
Rebecca’s inclusiveness doesn’t find its limits when it comes to meat consumption. She has a knack for making sure everyone is involved and participatory. In our ever-growing family, there can be a tendency to assume that all parties have been informed of familial news; Rebecca can be counted on to be the one to follow up. Or if you’re coming into town on a random weekday, she’ll gather the troops so we can eat a quick lunch. Like most families, some individuals stay closer to the center of connectedness than others; Rebecca is always the one to know how those others are doing.
But it’s more than simply keeping people informed, though she’d make a superb Communications Director someplace. Rebecca keeps the lines open because she really values what is going on in the lives of the people she loves. Even if it’s something that she wouldn’t necessarily do (though I’ve come to decide that there’s very little Rebecca won’t do at least once), she still wants to know how things fair in your life. She’s a listener, a person who wants to hear you when you’re speaking. She takes the good with the bad and enjoys the whole story.
Rebecca values the whole as much the part. There ain’t a part of you she don’t love.