Recently I was carrying a large box to mail at the post office, and the bottom collapsed, spilling its contents all over the floor. I hastily locked the pram I was wheeling with my other hand, and bent down to start picking things up.
A woman’s voice called out and soon her cheery presence was next to me, helping me to carry the gaping box and its contents to the post office. There she helped me to tape up the box and repack everything. In my haste I hadn’t even realised I had been standing with a baby and stuff on the ground right in the middle of a driveway leading to a car park. She really was my angel that day.
After the box was repackaged I thanked her again and said I hoped I was not holding her up. I was grateful but a little flustered, and it was not till after she smiled and left that my brain processed her reply, which went along the lines of, “Don’t worry, you aren’t holding me up. I am a wreck so I don’t work or anything.”
Isn’t it surprising how often it is the ones who don’t think they have much to give who give the most?
This brings me to something that has stayed with me for a few weeks. A wise woman I met shared her experience of having cancer. It was one of those conversations where I was trying very hard to be fully present, and also remember all that was said. (The result: I missed certain lines while trying to hold on to the ones preceding them. How I wish now that I had had a voice recorder or a pen and paper handy at the time!)
Anyway, our conversation led to the notion of Compassion and how we grow in this when we go through adversity.
“One day, when these tough times are behind you, will you have compassion when you see someone else who is going through what you are going through now?”
For days afterwards this woman’s gentle strength and her question (above), kindly asked, stayed with me.
As I navigate certain challenges in life now I feel strengthened when I remember this question. It helps me to feel active in my choices, and to think: “one day, this time—with all its good and hard—will be behind me.”
I think of it when a stranger is kind to me when I am out with my children. (Today in the supermarket line the woman in front of us brought me more calm and joy than she realised, when she interacted with my kids. I could tell by the way she was that she had been through this phase before :-)).
I think of it when I write.
What a good question!
Tomato soup
I wasn’t going to post this photo because it looks as far from ‘Instagram-perfect’ as you can get. But this is real life (a quick snap while two preschoolers climb up on their chairs and a husband—I mean baby—babbles away on my left :-P)
We had this tomato soup for dinner last night and it was a success at the table. I was glad everyone liked it, but particularly because—and this is the Mama me talking—everyone ate their fill of vegetables with no effort at all!
Here is the rough recipe:
Olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
1 carrot, diced
Handful silverbeet, stems and leaves separated and roughly chopped (substitute with spinach or other leafy greens)
2 sprigs oregano, leaves only
2 cans whole, peeled tomatoes
Large handful frozen peas
Flaky sea salt
Chicken/vegetable stock, or water + 1 tbsp chicken stock powder/Vegeta
Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large, deep saucepan over medium heat. When the oil is warm and runny, add in the onion, celery and carrot. Sauté for a few minutes until the vegetables soften slightly. Add in the silverbeet stems, stir for a minute or two, then add in the silverbeet leaves and oregano leaves. Throw in a pinch of sea salt. Add in the tomatoes, stir well, then add in enough stock and/or water to just cover everything in the pot.
Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. If at any stage the liquid level looks too low, add in a bit more water. Add in the frozen peas and cook for a further 5-7 minutes until everything is tender. Taste and season to your liking (I have added dark muscovado sugar to sweeten it, balsamic vinegar to give it more body, etc).
Turn off the heat and leave to cool slightly, then blend in batches, being careful not to fill your blender up with too much hot liquid as it expands.
Serve with bread and butter—our current home-baked loaf is Tessa Kiros’s olive oil bread (recipe in this book).
I channel “Ratatouille” vibes when making soup!
Need a booky escape? I am currently reading Mrs Harris Goes to Paris & Mrs Harris Goes to New York in my spare moments and Ada Harris is like a hot cup of tea for the soul.
A thought for Writers
The desire to write is connected to the desire to evolve. We are channels. Something wants to be written through us and we are uniquely qualified to write it. We are not looking for answers. We are allowing ourselves to be steered toward a greater truth through a series of events to which our hero responds."
- Al Watts
Need more tips? Check out my eBook Write from the Start.
Unfinished poem
I’ve been trying to complete this poem but each ‘go’ is making it worse. It’s like willing a fruit to ripen beautifully but watching it rot on the windowsill instead. I have a thought tonight though; in some ways it is perfect unfinished … just like so many of our thoughts and projects are as mamas …
Do you have unfinished projects? What would it take to complete them? How would it feel to leave one or two unfinished and take delight in having started them at all?
What mama needs
More than red roses and diamond rings,
fast magic or fairy wings,
she needs
Time
to drink coffee in peace;
a moment to feel … total release
Comfort
a good hot lunch, a shower or nap;
a kiss and a cuddle with her child on her lap …………………..
Okay, maybe just a good long sleep ……………. ZzzzZZzzZZZ …………
Wishing you a beautiful day from Autumnal Auckland,
Mel
Great update Mel! Love your thoughts, sensitivity and writing style. Hmm, I wonder if that big box was the one enroute to the Philippines - eeek! xx