Can you believe that I have never ever cooked a pot roast? I’m not 100% sure that I have ever eaten one either. It just wasn’t something that my mother cooked growing up and not something that I just was particularly interested in making when I started cooking for myself. I can now confidently say that I have truly been missing out all of these years.
Yesterday I told you all the story of my journey dealing with Mason’s developmental delays and how I have come to terms on the best path to move forward. What I did not share was how I really got to that point.
My village.
And not just any type of village. I mean a God ordained, you don’t know you’re going to need them but I know you’re going to need them type village. Family and friends that I wouldn’t trade for all the money in the world.
Ok. That’s a lie. I would trade them, get rich, buy them back and then live happily ever after.
But it honestly was the people that I opened up and allowed in that have carried me when I couldn’t seem to do it myself. You are not meant to do life alone and I truly believe that if I didn’t have people to lean on in these hards times I wouldn’t have the strength to really push through.
Part of the reason that I want to be transparent is because I know that everyone doesn’t have that type of community. Moving away from my family and friends taught me that sometimes you have to build the support and community that you need and not wait for it to come to you. If I make myself more visible then maybe, just maybe someone will feel comfortable enough to reach out if they need the help. Somebody has to be the bright light in the dark tunnel when you have no idea where to go.
Let me tell you about my light, her name is Allie. From the minute I fell down the google rabbit hole of autism and developmental delays she was the first person I thought of. She was the only person that I knew that had even remotely dealt with something like this.
I called her literally in pieces. What did Allie do? She grabbed her broom and swept me right on up. Gathered the pieces of me and put them right back together, told me I was more than capable of being the mom Mason needed and that she would be there to remind me every time I doubted myself. So far she has not missed a step.
It’s important to have people that have been where you are trying to go because there are some words you’ll never have to say. They will just know and they will do without being told. They have been there and they know what you need, even when you don’t.
Our family was affected by the government shutdown and I was frustrated at the idea of us losing our health insurance if the shutdown continued. Mason has so many appointments scheduled and not knowing if we would have to cover his medical expenses was so frustrating. I voiced this to Allie and she was determined to do something to take our mind off of the situation.
She had groceries delivered to our house.
Not just any groceries but a pot roast! Which is how we ended up here with me making pot roast for the first time. She had asked me what were some of our favorite things and she sent those as well. She also couldn’t believe that I had never actually cooked a pot roast either, she just assumed it was a simple, hearty recipe that everyone knew how to make.
This gave me some much needed distraction therapy and I was happy to have a new recipe to dig into. Since I’ve never made this before she also sent her favorite recipe for me to start with.
Not just any recipe but The Pioneer Woman’s recipe. I love the Pioneer woman if you don’t know. She came into my life right when I was having some serious trust issues with Paula Deen. We’ve been down like 2 flat tires since then.
My family loved the pot roast so much that I had to cook it again today.
Her small act of kindness has shown me the importance of taking care of those around us. I promised myself that I would pay it forward to those around us that we find along in this journey. Again this whole village things is really, really important.
When you are feeling down the best medicine there is, is helping someone else feel better.
Now if you are interested in making this recipe then head here.
There are a few things I would do differently but overall its a great recipe!
My family loves onions! 
This is where you just set it and forget it 
Pretty Tender if I do say so myself.
❤️ love this and you!