This I Believe (too)

I believe in making bread.

I love the texture and taste of homemade bread. I love the smell of a well-cooked crust. I love knowing which ingredients I and my family are eating ... no mystery chemicals this time.

I especially love the excitement of my daughter when it is time to take the bread out and she has waited patiently (or not so) to get to taste the first piece. She does a little jig, then a giggle, and her hands involuntarily plunge out in the "give me" stance. I ask her what she wants on it. "Honey bear, honey bear" is invariably the reply. We watch the butter melt then add the honey from the bear-shaped bottle. It melts too.

She eats.

I wait.

Finally, after mouthfuls of crust and innards have been disposed, I hear the critique, "it's 'ummy, mommy, 'ank you."

My husband comes home and the bread is no longer hot. Only faint hints of the fresh bread aroma remain. I serve him dinner. I include some bread. The scene nearly repeats itself. "This bread is so good, honey. It turned out great again, you rock." He thanks me five more times before our heads occupy our pillows.

Baking bread definitely makes sense in a cost/benefit world. It costs me a little bit of time and a few ingredients but the benefits go beyond healthier eating or more economical feeding. The biggest benefit is the love.

Bread making is all about love.

I was talking to my mom a few weeks ago and she had just taught a bread making class for Enrichment*. Most of the women who signed up to attend were younger mothers. As my mother prepared and prayed about this assignment she was convinced that her real purpose was to teach these women that bread making is all about love. You can buy good bread (especially in Utah where there are bread stores everywhere), that isn't necessarily the point. The point is that in baking bread you show others you care for them.

I had a friend from graduate school who made bread. He once said to me, "I'll never use a bread machine because how else can I knead the love into my bread?" He knew that bread making is about love.

As I was thinking about this concept, I thought about how often Christ is referred to as the "Bread of Life" in the scriptures. We are told to partake from the Bread frequently and generously. Each week we partake of the Sacramental bread in remembrance of Him.I think there is no coincidence that He chose to compare Himself to bread. Bread sustains and comforts. Bread fills and satisfies. Bread is love. Think about it, is there any other kind of food that even makes sense when you try to use it as an analogy for Christ? I've tried to earnestly think of a few and they just sound lame. Spinach is very fortifying but that definitely doesn't work. Chocolate is comforting but still falls short. Hot oatmeal warms and fills but ... nah.

I believe in bread making. It is one of the ways I show love. In eating it with excitement, delight, and enthusiasm, my family returns that love.



*Enrichment is short for Home, Family, and Personal Enrichment. At least once a month women from congregations of the LDS church get together to learn and share and do in ways that are enriching to themselves, their families, and others. It is fairly informal and usually is held in someone's home. For more information go here.

This I Believe*

I believe in imperfection. I believe that sometimes doing something poorly is better than not doing it at all. I even believe that sometimes doing something "well enough" is actually better than doing it perfectly. For instance, I could spend hours and hours cleaning my house to perfection and miss out on spending time with my daughter. Or, I could clean my house "well enough" and then go for a walk and watch my two year old discover butterflies and birdies and blossoms.

I believe that I can wait to take a family vacation until I can afford the perfect vacation or I can take a day here and a day there to build memories and connections with the ones closest to me. Life has a way of passing us by if we wait for perfect moments.

A friend of mine has a poster in her kitchen, it says something like this, "anything worth doing is worth doing poorly until you can do it well." I believe in that too. When I was in elementary school I quit taking piano lessons because I just wasn't very good at it. How I wish that I had been willing to do it "well enough" until I got better. How many things did I quit or never start because I was unwilling to accept imperfection? Now I play the piano and it doesn't really matter that I hit the wrong notes fairly often. These days I'm okay with imperfection.

Perfection is still a goal for a few areas of my life. I strive to be a perfect disciple of Christ. I want to perfectly follow His teachings. I would like to be perfect in my relationships, especially with my family. I fail, of course, but I'm learning to not give up the things that matter most just because I'm not perfect at them. And the things that matter less? I'm learning to do them imperfectly and to be perfectly happy with that.


*There is a series of essays produced for public radio entitled "This I Believe." Basically, essayists (from all walks of life, all ages, all political and religious persuasions, and all races) submit writings about a core belief and how that informs their life. I'm not ready to submit this for radio but I thought I'd share it with you.

In order to celebrate...

Happy February!

In America, February is Black History Month.

Before I was Eden's mommy, I had a mostly-enjoyable career in Higher Ed Administration. Before that I was a student. I did both my senior (undergrad) thesis and my masters work studying the history of black America. Most of my research focused on the role of education/literacy in the lives of slaves. Much of my work focused on women.

To celebrate Black History Month, I will be posting an essay here and there throughout the month. I will still be posting my regular array of "Eden did the cutest thing..." and "Here are my thoughts about this..." etc. so if you just don't have any interest in history, don't tune out completely.

Happy February!