Things have been very busy lately. Between the end of the holidays and the winter sickness which accompanied it, along with the girls going back to school and encountering extra challenges, I haven't had much time for bread.
This is distressing. I have found myself frequently fretting that I am making no headway in my goal.
The other day, I went home with a recipe, fully intending to work on it. But when I entered my kitchen, what good spirits I had sank. The counter was covered in things and the sink had dishes--some left over from the previous busy evening and some from my girls' efforts at home. There was no way I could work on any bread until the kitchen was cleaned, so I set aside my plan and cleaned.
The next day, I came home again, intending to make bread, but something someone said popped my "happy bubble", as my kids call it. My husband noticed I wasn't exactly feeling my best.
"I have to make ****!" I told him as I changed out of my work clothes, throwing my sweater on the bed and snatching a t-shirt out of my drawer.
"No, you don't," he said. "Right now, you couldn't make **** with love."
He was right. I took a deep breath and turned off my smartphone display where I could see the bread recipe.
He offered to cook dinner for me, so I could work with the kids on their homework, instead of having to juggle both. As he looked in the pantry and began planning, he came over to where I was standing.
"Honey," he said. "I can make dinner, but there is one thing I can't make. Could I persuade you to make some of your strawberry muffins?"
How could I say no?
I mixed up the muffins as he worked on the main elements of dinner. Kids coming in and out of the kitchen smelled the muffins cooking and smilingly exclaimed, "Strawberry muffins!" Every so often, he would taste and offer me a taste of what he was cooking, so we could ponder together alterations in seasoning.
Dinner that night was a kind of stew over rice, with strawberry muffins. It was simple, hearty fare--good food for a winter evening. But more importantly, there was peace in the home and everything was made with love.
I am so blessed to have a wonderful, patient husband who works hard to serve in the family and keep peace in our home.
I will get back to making more new breads; I have plans for this weekend. (And larger plans in a couple of months . . . I heard someone is going to make a tandoor!!! I'm so excited I could jump up and down if it would do any good.) But I need to remember to keep it all in perspective.
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