The Heart of the Table | Motherhood & Family

The Glass Half Full

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As I look around me and watch the posts on social media during our recent quarantine crisis, I see many of us are stressed by the reality of social distancing and isolation. Restaurants are closed, grocery store shelves are picked clean, and the world feels heavy.

S-T-R-E-S-S! But perhaps we can put this into perspective.

Being a Floridian for most of my life, I’ve weathered plenty of tropical storms and several full-blown hurricanes. When we lost power, there was no electricity, no refrigeration, no lights, no television, no phone chargers, and no air conditioning.

Before the storm hits, you fill up tubs and pots with water, because you will lose water after the storm. That means no flushing of toilets and no hot showers. Grocery store shelves are bare before the storm, and often shut down for days after the storm.

So, I look at our current crises with my glass half-full vision. Yes, perhaps we must stay home. But we have running water, an electric stove, air conditioning, and open grocery stores that are constantly restocking provisions.

From the Archives: Changing Perspectives

A Nourishing Skill

More than this, the unfamiliarity with these kinds of crises adds a different kind of stress. To reduce it, I thought I might offer a basic idea for food you can cook at home, relying simply on what you already possess.

Yes, I totally encourage all of us to support our local restaurants. But let’s balance this with cooking at home. You’re probably stuck in the house with kids that are driving you crazy by now, because their schedules are totally blown up.

Instead of yielding to the chaos, let’s work together to teach them the skill of cooking for themselves. After all, they will all go off on their own one day, and this just may be a skill practically worth learning. Soup is nourishing, tastes great, and helps keep you hydrated.

Another plus when cooking a chicken is you can use the leftover meat for a myriad of other dishes. Take that extra chicken and turn it into curried chicken salad, a warm mushroom quesadilla, a heavy casserole, or a barbecue flatbread. Really, the possibilities are endless.

I wish you good health, and a swift passing of this crisis. But, more than this, I wish you joy in the moment. Finding the joy amid stressful times is hard… but, I know we can do it!

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