For the Love of Food
I got a thoughtful message this morning from a sweet woman wondering if I would make 4 dozen of “my famous” cookies to share with her father’s nurses at his dialysis.
I found myself guilty telling her the kitchen will be closed after next Tuesday…
And trying to sell her on the idea of a calendar instead.
Then, I started thinking more about it.
The last thing most nurses probably wants are more cookies.
Especially dialysis nurses.
From what I can gather, they are the assistants in the process of filtering blood for people’s kidneys- specifically balancing calcium, potassium, and sodium- while also getting rid of waste products or excess glucose (aka blood sugar) and other toxins. Maybe a nice alternative would be some pesto, romesco, or, chimmichurri. Take a dip with some raw vegetables, or use them to dress up a meal. Curried cauliflower? Fresh blueberry smoothies to celebrate hydration and the kidneys’ role in it!? Chai tea? Or soup for a quick evening meal?
Maybe I'm being a little unrealistic here, but isn’t it funny how we want to share the sweetest things with those that we love the most… even when it’s actually probably the last thing they really need?
I know in my family, LOVE = FOOD.
Which means we have an ABUNDANCE of F-O-O-D at all family gatherings. Not wanting to skimpy on the love, I nervously made 20 pounds of mashed potatoes one Thanksgiving when my grandmother finally passed the baton. We’ve been known to have 12 different pies at Thanksgiving, not including the whoopie pies.
A fellow student recently referenced this quote by W.S. Gilbert that really hit home for me.
“It isn’t so much what’s on the table that matters, as what’s on the chairs.”
I love this.
As the holiday season begins to whirl around us, with the anxiety inducing expectations that we place on ourselves to share as much love and care with material gift-giving, food, and drink- I hope that we can all take a precious moment to simply be grateful for the people we care about, the time we spend together, and the food we share.
And really s a v o r those sweets.