By: Jennifer Richardson Holt
This morning, I woke up surprisingly bubbly. I know that seems odd. And trust me, I do enjoy a good sleep and rising early to get to the grind of the day is not my idea of a fun time. I shocked myself at my elevated mood. Now, I am not particularly beastly when I first wake but I am very often quiet and not up for engaging conversation upon first being ripped by my alarm from a glorious slumber. And this morning, before I even got out of bed, as my husband and I were just lying there briefly pondering the day’s events, I was just chatting away. I hadn’t even gotten vertical and had already rattled on a great deal. What, you may be wondering, or not wondering if you’re honest, had me so up and at ‘em? Well, the night before I had stumbled upon something that I am passionate about; something that gets me excited. And apparently, this excitement was stuck in my craw because it had carried though a full night of sleep. There are few things that I am passionate about and this was a prime example.
What I found the night before wasn’t something I was unaware of; it was just something that I had not really had there in front of me to appreciate as fully as I should. It began as I was putting my daughter to bed. I read to her as she’s all tucked in snuggly amongst three unicorns (the largest of whom she sleeps with on her head), a dog, and a highland cow. This night we were finishing up The Silver Chair, the fourth book of C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia. While the entire series is an absolute masterpiece, this last chapter of this book was full of absolutely gorgeous writing. As someone who loves to read great writing, this got me terribly excited. My daughter noted my excitement and thankfully, she not only was thrilled by it, but she was equally as excited by the words I was reading to her, (in an appropriate English accent of course). She liked seeing me giddy, but she also seemed to grasp the amazing skill of these words. She felt the emotions that the ink on these pages stirred in her and in me. She laughed and smiled with me, and we even reveled in our favorite lines the next morning. As a matter of fact, just now as I am writing, my daughter and I took a quick break to happily read some of our favorite lines of this last chapter to my husband. She was thrilled to share this with him, as was I. Good (or in C.S. Lewis’ case, magnificent) writing is something that I wish I could adequately describe to you; but alas, the joy of great writing, isn’t easily written about, as I am currently learning.
While we are discussing things that get me excited, I am going to give a confession that, if I am honest, I am not particularly proud of. I am aware that my excitement in this area is probably not the healthiest. It has been something I have dealt with my entire life so I will refrain from really getting into it too deeply. But, if you want something that excites me, again, probably in a not totally innocent context, it is good food. No, it isn’t the same variety of fervor that I would apply to things of a more meaningful nature, but I do have a great deal of affection for good things to eat. Should I? I don’t know. I suppose most people enjoy a tasty treat but I daresay that I probably am fonder of it than your average. For instance, this very weekend I get to partake of my first Thanksgiving dinner. Now, if you are not of the American persuasion, you may not grasp that the majority of the celebration of Thanksgiving is, well, eating. I don’t want to trivialize the holiday because I fervently believe that the inspiration behind it is fantastic. I daresay most people on the planet would do well by being more grateful for all the things that they have. But to know that I will soon be enjoying some of the classic Southern recipes that have been passed down through generations thrills me to my bones. I will get to enjoy recipes that are only pulled out for the most special of occasions. Maybe I shouldn’t be as excited about delicious red velvet cakes or cornbread dressing but here I am.
As I type, my mouth is starting to water and my insides are doing a little happy dance. I literally look to the future with anticipation for days that I get to have tasty food, whether it be a holiday meal, a date night with my husband or, one of my absolute favorites, my annual mountain vacation. These are all times of which I know delicious food will be a part and while I look forward to them for many reasons, that is a big one. I’m sure part of all this is my Southern upbringing as food is a powerful love language here. We feed the people we love, and we feed strangers. We feed for every occasion, and we feed for no occasion at all. These principles are engrained in me, well this and if I’m honest, probably a less than dignified amount of gluttony and lack of self-control. I do honestly try to let my better nature wrestle with and keep at bay that last bit but my passion for good food certainly doesn’t seem to be going anywhere.
Now I must apologize. What was meant to be a simple blog about simple things that excite me has turned into a ramble of me going on about writing and food. I suppose it was bound to turn out that way though. Surely, I am not the only one who will go on and on about things that they really feel strongly about. I will say I did mean to cover more bases and talk about more things but, I suppose I became drunk on one of my trademark cocktails; a mixture of passion and wordiness. Hmm. I wonder what type of dessert would pair well with that drink.
Prose and Possibilities 