A Year of Gratitude – May 11, 2024

I found my gratitude in the farmhouse kitchen today. I spent the afternoon baking cakes for our Mother’s Day celebration tomorrow. I made myself a cup of tea and looked over my recipes until I decided which recipes to bake.

I put on a bit of music to listen to and set about gathering my ingredients. I set up on the kitchen table today. The sun was shining in the nearby window and it felt good to work in the sunshine.

Penny Lane was happy about my decision to work at the table. She has a bed in the kitchen that is nearby. So, she settled in for an afternoon nap while I worked. She had a bit of sunshine to keep her warm and the sounds of me working in the kitchen to lull her to sleep.

Thanks to our hens, I had plenty of fresh eggs today to bake with. That always puts a smile on my face. A basket full of fresh eggs fills me with pride. Each egg represents so much work to keep our girls healthy and safe. I am grateful for every single one of them.

I worked for a few hours between the prep, baking, decorating, and cleaning up. As I did, I thought about how lucky I am to be spending the day with my children and my parents. If I was granted a magic wand, there are a lot of things I would change about my 51 years, but I wouldn’t change a thing about them. I won the lottery each time one of them was added to my life.

I also thought about the loved ones who won’t be with us to celebrate. I used a measuring cup that was my grandmother’s today and thought of her. I used a mixing bowl given to me by another grandmother. I so wish that I could share a piece of cake with them tomorrow. Instead, I’ll think of them and hold them close in my heart.

Baking calms me in a way that cooking doesn’t. It requires more patience and precision than cooking. So, I tend to focus more on what I am doing in the moment than thinking about all of the other tasks and decisions that often clamor for attention. In that way, it is meditative for me. It gives me focus on the task at hand, gives me a reason to be present in the moment. It was nice to do that today and leave my other cares and worries behind for just a bit.

Yes, they were waiting for me when I put my apron away for the day. But I had homemade cakes on the kitchen counter and tomorrow to look forward to when I’ll get to share them with the people that I love. I’m forever grateful for that.

This post is part of our A Year of Gratitude Series. You can find the introduction, inspiration, and entire year’s gratitude’s posts here.