In life, we’re always waiting to “get there.” And yet there always remains an elusive concept.
Graduate college.
Get married.
Have the kid.
Maybe publish a book, or hike Mount Everest, or move to France.
But do we ever reach any summit and think, aha, I’ve made it! I think the trick to living is to realize that the answer to that question is no . . . and then to be very grateful for it.
I grew up in South Carolina, and there, I was a completely different person. I was known to cross the street to my grandparents’ house barefoot, never measure correctly when baking, and always have my nose in a book. Unreliable, irresponsible, but really, just a dreamy kid with one foot outside of reality.
When I moved to California, somehow, I became The Baker. Where was the girl who had barely known how to measure flour (don’t pack it in; level off with the handle of a spoon)?
I brought in banana bread, pies, muffins, cookies…never cake, though—I find them to be a terrible ordeal (You have to bake two layers? And then make the frosting? And then let it cool? And then frost? Who has the patience for that?!).
And with that, I realized: I wanted a stand mixer. You know the one: KitchenAid, most likely some audacious color like red. The prize of a True Baker, to sit pleasantly on your countertop as a sign of your capability.
And yet, something held me back. I’d done the work; I should have been worthy of the object.
A voice deep inside saw a KitchenAid stand mixer as a present you get at a wedding shower. And I was 25, single, with no prospects in sight. I just couldn’t get over that.
To this day, I wish I’d bought the dang mixer. Because it’s a silly thing to keep waiting until some milestone you may never, and really don’t have to, hit.
And guess what? I got married, eventually—but I still don’t have the stand mixer. Maybe that speaks to a larger life lesson.
If you want the stand mixer, if you have the funds, please don’t wait for some silly milestone. Don’t wait for someone to say, “Wow, you are a True Baker!”
Or, “Wow, you are a True Hiker!”
Or, “Wow, now that you are a Wife/Mother/Anything, you have value and purpose!”
Buy the dang stand mixer. For crying out loud…
Leave a Reply