First, I think it’s very important that we do move forward and not stay stagnant. Like you said, growth is a forward motion.

As I’ve moved forward, I find myself concentrating more on my creative side, versus my “collective” side. I’m no longer into “things”, but experiences and creating memories.

As I write this, I’m thinking of how we’re having our annual neighborhood garage sale this weekend. I’ve been brutal as I’ve gone through the house, letting go of “stuff” that seems to be weighing me down. Oh, how light I’ll feel come Sunday.
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Roger Scruton’s writing is beautiful. Thank you so much for including it here. It’s exactly how I felt all those years I did cook. Even now, at holidays, the chaos gets organized, table favors as well as little centerpieces for each table are made, and sometimes even place cards. Thanksgiving is a special time in my memory. My grandmother had all of us there for evening dinner. Card tables were in all the rooms, dressed with lace cloths and flowers. The food aromas were to die for. This is the Thanksgiving I give to my family every year, and think lovingly of my grandma. (Only I don’t do lace.)

The rest of the year it’s just food and fun…

“Here is another example: it is a special occasion, when the family unites for a ceremonial dinner. You set the table with a clean embroidered cloth, arranging plates, glasses, bread in a basket, and some carafes of water and wine. You do this lovingly, delighting in the appearance, striving for an effect of cleanliness, simplicity, symmetry, and warmth. The table has become a symbol of homecoming, of the extended arms of the universal mother, inviting her children in. And all this abundance of meaning and good cheer is somehow contained in the appearance of the table. This, too, is an experience of beauty, one that we encounter, in some version or other, every day. We are needy creatures, and our greatest need is for home—the place where we are, where we find protection and love. We achieve this home through representations of our own belonging, not alone but in conjunction with others. All our attempts to make our surroundings look right—through decorating, arranging, creating—are attempts to extend a welcome to ourselves and to those whom we love.”

As to change, Scruton goes on to decry the desecration of beauty to achieve shocking originality. I thank you for your faithfulness to the former.

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Hi Swati. It IS the creativity that allows us to enjoy cooking. I agree.

Ahhh Patricia… I love your stories. Adapting to who you need to be at any point in your life — that’s a key ingredient to living fully, I think. Adapting, but not defining in a limited way. Staying free to pursue your own what’s next is ideal. I like your outlook, Patricia — life really does matter, one day at a time. Thanks so much for sharing.

Hi Davina. I know what you mean about losing some of the words. I used to write it all. Looking back over some early writings now is just comical. I’m learning too to cut, revise, rearrange, edit some more, and look at it cold before submitting. But this is what you do, isn’t it? Are you not an editor by profession?
Thanks so much for sharing.

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My oldest, who at the time we only gt to see a few times a year, asked me once, “What happened to my Mom?” This was when we only had our daughter at home, and she was in high school, therefore my “freedom” chapter. I told him I no longer had all the responsible, so I was now free to be myself!

Now I am in what I think of as my “senior” chapter – hubby & I have learned to quit putting things off, and take time to travel, to play with the grandkids. And, finally, time to indulge my creative side with my photography and digital art.

Is there another chapter coming? Certainly, although I have no idea what will change next. I have learned to simply take each day as it comes, and to indulge myself by allowing myself to enjoy it in whatever way I can.

Hi J.D. I also am a fan of growth, love to explore, experiment, and push myself. And I need to go read Is Will a Skill? Sounds intriguing.

That said, there’s some things I like to keep doing to ‘master my craft.”

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