In the soup🍵

A couple of years ago I had need to transport soup to Leigh's house.

I had made my renown pumpkin soup and it  remains my only cooking success story.

Thinking it a good idea to carry it in an easy pour container I carefully stored it in the car and made my way gently down the kerb onto the road.

I had barely got the third tyre onto the road when the container rolled - the lid opened and the soup spilled all over the floor mat , leaving a distinctive orange tinge and an equally pungent aroma.

I quickly stopped the car, reversed and carefully negotiated the mat onto the lawn, realising that very little had survived in the container.

I see this scene unfolding as clearly as if it was yesterday as I couldn't believe my reaction.

This incident will always indelibly be the moment I realised the value of calm in a 'disaster'.

No story - No issue !!

I have always bordered on being a complete tribute to histrionics - ranting, raving and behaving completely unreasonably when confronted by what at first appears to be an insurmountable  problem.

Anyone who has been a single parent will say that it is a rewarding life but it has it's challenges.

As one who really did 'it her way' without any emotional or financial support, decision making for me became a real mine field.

Every time I had to find money or get things fixed or deal with childhood illness I had to figure it out on my own.

I would take a deep breath and soldier on, committed to my goal that my children would always feel loved and like everyone else- not the products of a ' broken family'.

So I ploughed on - robbing Peter to pay Paul and doing whatever had to be done - within reason. As a result I made a lot of mistakes and started to become very anxious as one after the other I had to run the gauntlet of bills, illness and domestic 'issues'

I'd feel my stomach knot and my palms sweat as yet another 'window pane' arrived in the letter box or another part fell off the car!!

After a while I had to recognise that good, bad or indifferent I had to own my decisions. This became very liberating as I realised that after a time everything done with the right intentions turns out somehow😀

When you face what feels like a massive abyss too hard to cross there is a certain anticipation much like 'here we go again .....' 

I will always remember the soup incident as the day I realised that I had done the hard yards and calm in the face of a storm is always the better way.

Faced with a few challenges at present that would have once had me running for cover, proscrastinating and rolling into a fetal ball - I realise that a calm head sees things so much better . I see things for what they are and I realise that though seemingly insurmountable in the moment problems come and go and only became issues if you let them.

I've learned the value of facing things head on and dealing with things straight away. Nip things in the bud and mountains stay mole hills.

Might be easy to say but trust me the ability to treat problems the same way you treat the good times is so liberating and way more productive.

Comments

[Fiona]

Yup, for sure! I so relate to the soup in the car. We have a soup club in the winter which is fine if you don't have a steep steep driveway and a wonky lid to the slow cooker. It always slops before I even get out of the drive in the morning. You would think I would learn!

[Emma]

I could never imagine raising 4 kids on my own, I think you may have stayed calmer than you think maybe now you are just putting into practice on another level.
Love the blog Chris, it's been my mantra of late. No story no problem xx