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This week some of us are euphoric. Some of us are very afraid. My hope is that for those of us who are euphoric, the good that we hope for the nation is good for all of us. And for those of us who are afraid, that our fears prove groundless. And for both the happy, sad and angry I pray for open minds and open hearts. I pray for us to remember that at our best we are a united states, each of us trying to live our best life.
And now I think it's time to move onto other topics, something away from politics, something from the marrow of each of our lives....like Joy.
Joy doesn't come easy to me.
Occasionally Joy sneaks up on me and catches me in her embrace when I'm not prepared.
I don't trust joy. I think she's a two-sided coin with heart break, or catastrophe, or something onerous on the other side.
I'm always waiting for that trickster, the Universe, to hand out the punishment for enjoying Joy too much.
Just for this week, as an experiment, I called a truce with Joy. I said I'd take her by the hand when she showed up. I'd stop looking for the dark cloud in all that silver lining. I'd sing her son, walk her walk and see what she had to show me.
It's not an easy truce, old habits die hard.
Just this morning I tried to escape Joy's clutches by:
- slipping out of my husband's loving embrace
- wishing to hurry along a lovely chat with the neighbor as she paused from raking the leaves in her yard, warmth and sunshine burning off the chill of an autumn morning.
- waving at a distance at Annie as she hailed me to ask if I wanted more home-grown squash
Then I reminded myself that Joy and I are working on our relationship.
I need to stick around and see what she has to offer. In just a few short hours Joy delivered:
- A happy husband who feeling loved, was eager to show me love by running several errands that I usually run.
- I learned a bit more about my neighbor, her family and the people she loves while we lingered in the sunshine.
- Annie provided enough squash for lunch, the pantry was empty, and enough to make soup for friends.
No lightening struck,
nor tragedy
nor angst,
just Joy
Wishing you a visit from Joy!
Here's a recipe filled with joy and love....Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients
1 Butternut Squash
1/2 C butter
1 small onion
2-3 stalks celery
32-64 ounces Chicken Stock
1-2 cups of milk or cream
salt, pepper and pumpkin pie spice to taste
Heat oven to 375. Cut squash in half. put in a shallow baking pan filled with 1/4 inch of water, water shouldn't cover squash, just provide a little moisture. Bake for an hour, or until squash is cooked through, fork inserted comes out.
Let squash cool.
Chop onion and celery. Heat butter in a large stock pot and saute onion and celery for about 5 minutes.
Peel squash. Put squash in stock pot, add enough chicken stock to make preferred thickness of soup. Amount of stock will depend on size of squash. Use immersion blender or regular blender to blend ingredients. Warm on medium heat, add cream or milk, salt, pepper and pumpkin spice to taste.
Wishing you a weekend of Joy Wonder Ones!
