Zen is a good chef’s knife and food to chop, dice, mince, a pot to stir. So much this year has been out of our control, but in the kitchen I control it all.
Other than my walkabout, one of the most satisfying places where I can really get into the moment, the zazen, is when involved in a kitchen chore.
With my writing and painting there is no immediacy. I paint or write for hours and it never quite feels done. I drop one piece to begin another and in the end, I have 5 paintings half done; 2 novels unedited; and numerous essays that don’t quite hit the mark.
So today at mom’s I sat at the kitchen bar and diced, minced measured, sautéed, and mixed. I now have 2 pans of dressing, 2 of broccoli casserole. The bird is cleaned, patted dry and awaits tomorrow’s roasting.
We watched cheesy Hallmark Xmas movies, chatted, sipped beer and ate take-out from Acapulco’s – socially distanced of course – she sat on the couch, me on my usual perch at the kitchen bar.
Tomorrow will be a breeze as everything is ready to just pop in the oven. First a long walkabout, then coffee, morning pages and Macy’s Faux Parade before heading over to Mom’s after noon. Plenty of time as we rarely eat before seven. Happy Thanksgiving Eve y’all.
Perle Champion 