thankful for the mushy part :: The Joy Challenge

 

This is my friend Kate, with her daughter Claire. There might be something weird crawling in Claire’s coffee mug. Not sure … I’ll ask them.

But what I really wanted to tell you about is this: Kate makes a mean loaf of bread. If you know Kate, you know the deliciousness of her homemade cinnamon bread. It’s a thing of beauty. I’ll get her to share her recipe with you in December when I’m featuring ‘Family Favorite Recipes’ – from some of my all time favorite families.The Zinnecker’s are definitely one of my favorite families. And Kate’s bread … well, it’s only AMAZING!

Anyhoo, Kate’s bread requires a starter. And if you know starters, you know they require feeding and remembering. And remembering and feeding. I know this because I had some of Kate’s starter … and I actually made that amazing bread for a couple years. But after a while, I got really tired of that starter. Always flattening out and dying in my fridge.I had no idea what to do with that dead starter. Not throw it down the sink for gracious sake – that would have killed my plumbing. Toss in the trash? Bury it in the backyard? Never knew what to do with that dead starter.

A couple of times, Kate gifted me with new starter. And I’d get all excited and make a couple loaves. But then it would happen, I’d forget. And again – what to do with the dead starter. Eek.

So  that’s how I came to admire Kate and her ongoing commitment to feed and remember. And actually make the bread. Because that’s the only way to get the fabulous homemade bread … is to keep remembering it. And to keep feeding it. Kate’s good at that.

She remembers it and feeds it. Then she takes the time to make the bread. And if you’re one of the lucky ones (oh please say I’m a lucky one after you read this post Kate!) – you might get one of those loaves. (Or two …?)

Okay, now I’m getting to the mushy part. Skip, skip, skip if you don’t want the mushy part. But that is the best part of the bread, you know.

If you want to have fabulous pictures like this with your children …

If you want to have friends that think of you fondly …

If you want to live a life that makes you joyful …

You need to be like Kate Zinnecker. A woman that feeds and remembers … relationships.

“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures”

Thornton Wilder