In a fit of housewiferly enthusiasm ( ‘housewiferly?’ Just go with it.) this morning, I began cleaning out my spice cupboard. It’s been on my ‘To-Do’ list for nearly three years now. Life most certainly takes priority to the expiration dates on my Thyme and Rosemary.
What happened today to bring this item to the forefront? I couldn’t get my Thyme and Rosemary out of the cupboard because they were, er, STUCK to it. Apparently some almond extract spilled a while (years?) ago, and morphed into some kind of superglue as it dried.
I haven’t used my Thyme and Rosemary in while, is what I am saying.
As I was removing these ancient artifacts from the shelves, memories of a conversation Critter and I had years ago surfaced and broke free of my little pea brain: He was in elementary school at the time, and was watching me make cookies, and asked me which of my spices were ‘good’ spices, and which ones were ‘bad’ spices. I told them they were all good, if used in the right recipe! But if we took garlic and added it to a chocolate cake batter, well, it might turn out horribly wrong. I remember so clearly how he pegged me with his chocolate brown eyes and posited, “How would you know if you didn’t try?”
I had no answer, but to this day have not wasted a perfectly good chocolate cake batter finding out. Still, he had me dead to rights.
This year, Critter started a new school. We pulled him out of his old school for various reasons, the largest of which was his extreme unhappiness, and plunked him (gently) into The Friends Meeting School in Ijamsville, Maryland. Understand, he has been with the same group of kids since Kindergarden, and now he was going to be in a completely new, and smaller circle of peers. It was a clear case of the devil you know, versus the devil you don’t know.
OH HOW WE SUFFERED GREATLY in the days leading up to his first day at Friends! In his mind, there was no end to the possible tragedies ahead of him. “What if I fail?” “What if they hate me?” “What if they bully me?” “What if I make no friends??”
Again and again it was, “WHAT IF I MAKE NO FRIENDS?!”
Finally this past Monday, the first day of school had arrived, and before he got out of the car at the drop-off lane, I pegged him with my own chocolate brown eyes and posited, “But what if you did? How would you know, if you didn’t try?”
He had no answer; I had him dead to rights, and he knew it.
I’m very pleased to report that we’re on day three at the new school, and Critter is happier than I have seen him in a long while. And check it out…..he’s made a boatload of really nice, good friends already. All is good these days at The Little Cottage!
I just hope….I really really hope…that he doesn’t turn this back on me and demand I try putting garlic in the chocolate cake.
And speaking of which…I have to figure out how to get almond extract superglue out of cherry wood grain. Pray for me.
Love,
Mama
Mama Boe 