Apple Crisp

Currently, my husband and I are living with my folks. After discovering mold I was allergic to in the basement we needed to gut the basement. As soon as the air ducts are cleaned out we can wash up all of the concrete dust on the walls and floors and move home. We are fairly excited.

The most difficult part of living with my parents has been sharing a kitchen. The kitchen in my home is my spa. Whether I need to feel reinvigorated or rejuvenated the kitchen is usually where it happens.

Cooking is an art to me. It energizes me. I love to make recipes and slave over a meal and present it. Baking on the other hand is methodical. I measure everything out exactly as it says. I follow steps and practice mindfulness skills in focusing on one thing at a time. If I'm stressed by the time I put a dessert in the oven I feel my shoulders have dropped, my forehead furrow relax, and the big stress filled thoughts seem smaller and manageable.

Without my kitchen and my tools my stress level has been slightly more difficult to manage. I hate digging and searching for things. My mom and I organize our kitchens entirely differently. I was thinking about how little time we had left living with my parents and feeling guilty about wanting to "just get out of here" when it wasn't that bad and my parents wanted us to stay longer. Life wasn't bad, but I felt discontented and felt guilty for feeling that way. God had been so good to us. My life wasn't that bad. I prayed God "I just want to feel your peace and joy tonight". I looked out the back window and I saw an apple tree.

Apple Crisp. Immediately there was a smile on my face. I was outside picking apples and inside cutting them up in no time. In the background I could hear K playing with my nephew and my parents doing laundry in the basement, but I was focused on the measuring. I was focused on the steps. Soon the layers were stacked and the dish placed in the oven. The weight of the guilt and stress melted away.

Soon the house smelled of fall. Apples and Cinnamon. And I felt the joy and the peace I had prayed for and had an apple crisp to show for it!