A Recipe for a Good Day
This workweek couldn't be over soon enough. In the chaos of each day this short week, I keep my eye on the prize -- a four-day weekend! I knew at the end, I would get to return home to start making the feast.
Now some would say that finding joy in cooking sounds a bit twisted. You might wonder why anyone would subject themselves, willingly, to hours of stuffing, peeling, grating, dicing, mixing, basting? You get the picture. Aren't the more evolved hosts picking their meal up from Raley's?
It's hard to explain how creating a dish from scratch, even one I've made a hundred times over, is comforting. Maybe it's because I'm sure of what I'll get at the finish for the effort. I also know for the time in, we'll have leftovers for days that will warm the body and the heart. Comfort food at its best.
Today as I prepare my bird, I'm enjoying the solitude while the family slumbers and the beginning of the day at my leisure. Only the dogs have padded into the kitchen to watch me wash my bird while the onions are sauteing. I don't mind being up at the crack of dawn for this task, since I don't have to do it, I choose to do it. A hot mug of coffee is my reward as I work.
I relish in each task, get a little lost in the repetition. The routine soothes me. My hands know how to carry out each task so well, that I can allow my mind to drift off. Allowing me to reflect. To remember past holidays, gatherings, phone calls, conversations. Those special memories I like to revisit.
Then there are the new memories I'll hope to make, if I can just convince the kids to join me. And not to get the cooking done faster, but to have them with me. When my son or daughter can be coaxed to help chop the salad fixings or stir the pudding for pie, I'm secretly ecstatic. The phones get put aside and the outside distractions are temporarily forgotten. And we share a piece of the day together, working side by side, talking, laughing, singing.
Of course, I'm reminded of time spent in the kitchen with my Mom. Which triggers memories of moments in the kitchen with my grandmothers. My aunts and my cousins. As much as I loathed KP at the close of each holiday feast, I have to confess I wish with all my heart we could do it again, all of us, one more time, impossible as it is since time has taken some of our family members from us. The time spent teasing and yelling over each other as we worked is priceless.
Funny how a chore can be turned into something treasured when you share it with people you love. That can be said for a meal or anything shared, for that matter. I guess it's being present in the moment and appreciating the company of those who matter so much.
While the sink is filling up with peelings and soiled dishes, and the scent of turkey begins to waft through the house, I'm happy to have the time to reflect on what has been, and I look forward to what will be.
