stressed spelled backwards is desserts

My friend Bud Royer, owner of Royer’s Roundtop Café, has a fabulous idea to satisfy those of us dealing with the stress of the current economic situation. It’s called Royer’s 2008 Economic Pie-Bail Out Plan. His simple down home advice is, “Eat mo’ pie.” This fantastic little secret is the basis for his business and life philosophy – that life is too short to skip dessert – pie in particular. He feels so strongly about this that he has made it his life’s work, selling thousands of pies nationwide. And as a result, he has become affectionately known as Bud the Pieman.

I really like that philosophy. Partly because I am a huge pie fan but mainly because I have realized that if that if I fail to go with the ‘life is too short’ philosophy this holiday season, I might just become a real stress wad. What with the economy bouncing around, prices spiking and the incessant negativity in the news – I might just morph into Chicken Little and join in with the media crying out, “The sky is falling! The sky is falling!” No one eats pie when the sky is falling.

With that in mind, I’m going to take a deep breath and stop worrying about the 401K, the kids’ college tuition, and how to pay for Christmas gifts. I’m going to press pause on the thoughts swirling in my head about what’s happening in the world and instead remind myself that life is too short. Too short to spend worrying and fretting over things outside of my control. Too short to forget the blessing of being with the people I love. Too short not to thank God for life and love and peace and joy.

And because life is just too short, this Thanksgiving morning will not begin with a look at the daily news. Instead, I think I’ll step outside, take a long look at the sky and remember that God is still in control. And then I’ll thank him out loud for doing such a great job of taking care of the world … and taking care of me. After that, I plan on walking inside my cozy house and thanking God for a place to live. Then I’ll find my husband, tell him I love him and thank him for putting up with me. I’ll wake up my sleepy teenagers and remind them that I feel like the most blessed mom in the whole world. And then I’ll sit down for our Thanksgiving dinner and enjoy some roasted turkey. I’ll taste the green bean casserole and eat the marshmallows off the sweet potatoes. I’ll nibble a buttered roll and sip on sweet tea. Then finally, I’ll implement Bud’s bail out plan … and feast on a warm slice of homemade pie, enjoying every last morsel.

I hope you will, too.

To order a pie from Bud, visit www.royersroundtopcafe.com