A stressful, long day led me to the pantry, second shelf from the top, behind the bags of croutons. My prized, sugar-fix laid hidden between bottles of ranch (because we’re Midwesterners), awaiting my sporadic visits. Feeling lighter than I thought it should, I lifted the bag from its dark hiding spot in the back into the pale glow of the hallway light. Anticipating exactly three Oreos, the number I had strategically left behind, I carefully and oh-so quietly pulled back the packaging, glass of milk perched on the shelf next to hot sauce and sun-dried tomatoes, my mouth watering in anticipation. Three, the magic number of sweet, crunchy goodness that gave me strength to face the insanity that is a home of four young children.
My eyes realized the bleak emptiness in front of me, before my mind could comprehend the sad truth. Gone. Nothing but crumbs to mock my tastebuds, deprived of their sugary addiction. Immediately, my mind races with accusations. Four, potentially five, guilty culprits to cross examine. Two aren’t tall enough, so they’re cleared. Another is able to reach but is far too honest to take without asking. The fourth suspect is plenty able to reach, able to lie and willing, depending on what’s at stake. I almost can’t suspect the fifth potential, considering that the contents of this pantry mythicize and allude him every time he’s sent to retrieve a basic ingredient. Alas, without proof, I have no case and must do what every good mother must. Cut my losses, move on and remind myself of how lucky I am to be a mom.
Just kidding… go dip into their Christmas candy of course! Don’t worry, I’m not a monster…I took from each of their stashes. Gotta keep things even. No favoritism in this house!
This isn’t exactly the pilot blog article I’d originally planned. I’ve hemmed and hawed over the wording, trying so hard to get it ‘just right’. I mean, how do you articulate chaos?
I’ve followed various blogs over the years, never really sticking around for any definite period of time. I have yet to find one that really encompasses all that I’m looking for – gardening advice, recipes for families, canning recipes, facts that are backed by authentic sources. Too many blogs contradict one another, too often being backed by unvalidated data. Too many top results pulled from a Google search, have ended in catastrophic failure in either my kitchen or garden.
Having an agriculture degree, I certainly do not consider myself an expert, but I know where to find the experts and how to discern between them and the knockoffs. With a saturated market I never expected, or wanted, to start a blog. But I couldn’t get away from the idea that was increasingly becoming obvious. That and the constant prompting from the Holy Spirit to get off my butt and do it.
Oh yah, I should probably mention that if you hang around me long enough, you’ll discover a thing or two about my faith. I haven’t been a follower of Jesus my entire life; I came to Him at the age of 19. Since then, He’s become interwoven into the very fabric of my life and impacts many of the decisions I make. (The good ones at least; the bad ones are all my brainiac concoctions.)
If you choose to follow along this journey, welcome! And good luck! Everything I do, I do with kids “helping” me along the way. Including writing this very piece, as my youngest sits in my lap, hitting buttons that change the screen….open a new box….or nearly delete all of my work… Things get messy, my pictures will rarely be ‘picture perfect’ and my garden will likely have little boot prints or trowel gouges throughout. If you’re looking for real life and not perfection, we’re going to have a lot of fun!
