does UPS ship casseroles?
It has been a month of bad news. Not for me, directly, but several people I care dearly for are going through tough times - medically, mentally, economically, and otherwise. It's hard when someone you love is hurting, hard when the phrase "I'm thinking about you/hoping for the best" starts to feel empty because you've said it so many times. It's hard when you know circumstances are beyond your control and the people facing those tough times are far away, much too far away to console or support beyond regular emails and the occasional phone call. How do you lend a helping hand from afar? You can't ship casseroles, y'know.
I look outside at the piles of graying snow, the ice-rutted street, the folks shivering at the bus stop, and I wonder if spring will ever come. I think if I could just see that crocus blooming or some tender buds on the tree branches, I might have a little more optimism. If I could smell rain and good, clean dirt instead of the stale air of a house that has been insulated against the cold for the past four months, I might feel a little better about things.
For now, I will try my hardest to live in the moment (I even checked out a book from the library about Buddhism that I'm hoping will help with that, since I don't do well with that on my own). I will try and be patient. I am tired of winter, but I will not let its cold, bleak days defeat my spirit. I will be strong for those that need me.
And I might bake a casserole anyway. Or at least indulge in comfort food for dinner tonight.
I look outside at the piles of graying snow, the ice-rutted street, the folks shivering at the bus stop, and I wonder if spring will ever come. I think if I could just see that crocus blooming or some tender buds on the tree branches, I might have a little more optimism. If I could smell rain and good, clean dirt instead of the stale air of a house that has been insulated against the cold for the past four months, I might feel a little better about things.
For now, I will try my hardest to live in the moment (I even checked out a book from the library about Buddhism that I'm hoping will help with that, since I don't do well with that on my own). I will try and be patient. I am tired of winter, but I will not let its cold, bleak days defeat my spirit. I will be strong for those that need me.
And I might bake a casserole anyway. Or at least indulge in comfort food for dinner tonight.
Comments
-Chanterelle
I am sounding like a politician who claims he was "misquoted." But I must admit that the conclusion Queen Bruinhilde drew was perfectly logical, but not at all what I had intended to say.
When I said that I have sent cookies via USPS, I did not mean recently. In the past. Many months ago. And not to the person who is presently experiencing a rough patch in life. What I meant to say was that casseroles probably don't ship very well, but cookies do.
It sure is nice when friends and church members and others can bring over meals when life hits a rough patch, and it is disappointing and maybe frustrating when you live so far away that you can't help out. And cookies is such a lame substitute. I wonder if a loaf of home made bread would make it before going stale?
-Chanterelle
Big hugs!
I don't try to beat those winter blues as much as I just huddle down. I like Yankee candles for warmth & good sniffs, I always like comfort food like baked mac & cheese or a good toad-in-the-hole, and rather than pine for spring that's still months away I like to keep things closed up & cozy. So, pretty much the OPPOSITE of Jenn's words o'wisdom, but maybe between the two of us you can feel a little brighter.
Toad In The Hole is a casserole dish from a '70s-era recipe book I love to cook out of. The schmaltz factor is great, but honestly the good home-cookin' of that era is pure comfort food all the way. The best recipe I could quickly find for it is here:
http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/000089classic_english_toad-in-the-hole.php
Enjoy!
Mary Ann