Dear Milk Streeter,

Our young son, Oliver, looked out of the window just before Christmas hoping to see the moon. It was a cloudy night so he was disappointed; he was looking for the expected but did not find it.

As one gets a bit older, one starts to appreciate the unexpected; the kind gesture, a bit of grace, or a friendship renewed. You can’t look out the window for these moments; they just appear.

For some of our friends and family, 2018 offered hardships as well as unexpected kindnesses, of coming together, of reliance on others. Neighbors have shown up in their pickups; meals have been cooked and enjoyed together, and our work at Milk Street has created a family that stretches around the world.

Many Milk Streeters have stopped by our office in Boston to say hello, I’ve met others on the road at bookstores and in airports, and I’ve had the honor and pleasure of meeting so many home cooks in their own kitchens from Reyna Mendoza in Teotitlan outside of Oaxaca to the charming Alice in a kitchen in Dakar to Raji at his breakfast place in Beirut, El Soussi.

Today, our farmhouse at 5:30AM is cold—the tall single-pane windows bring the outside chill inside. I stoke the fire, brew the coffee, turn on the classical station, flip the pancakes, and then sit down to write this thank you.

And, so, thank you. Thanks for showing up. We leave 2018 behind us with warm memories and with enormous enthusiasm for the future.

This coming year, I know that we will see a full moon out of the window. But we’ve learned that it’s easier to find when it’s least expected.

Cordially,

Christopher Kimball

P.S. Please take a moment to say hello if you are in Boston – we’d love to shake your hand.