Eat Dessert First

My grandmother's favorite saying is "Life is short; eat dessert first." As her life is drawing to a close - just shy of her 93rd birthday - I decided to take her advice once again knowing she would appreciate this small triumph.

Upon rising somewhere between 3:30 and 4:00 a.m. - on a weekend, no less - I spent an hour contemplating what to do with the day. Ultimately I did some chores - the kind of mundane tasks every one does from time to time that leaves a body satisfied with herself having accomplished them. I kept the laundry going, folding clothes along the way. I cleaned out the entire pantry, rearranging the boxed and canned goods before digging out some clear bins to make more room on lower shelves. During this task the guys eyed several cans of recently purchased fruit, particularly the cherries. Finally, as they oohed and aahed appropriately over my pristinely organized closet, Jeff said, "Do you think you're going to make something with those cans of fruit soon?" Now, I had already planned to make some goodies today, though my thoughts were lingering toward substituting figs into date pinwheels (as Mom and I discussed yesterday). Of course, once the boy gave me the puppy dog eyes and added how much he liked cherry pie, I knew I was done for.

Pie is one of the easiest desserts to make - the only real trick is in remembering to cover the edge of the crust for about half the cooking time - so I didn't mind. The hardest thing about pie is waiting for it to cool before cutting it, so I frequently don't. Today I put my little lattice-topped pastry on a cooling rack for about 20 minutes until I couldn't resist the urge any longer. Of course, since it was still pretty hot, a large scoop of vanilla bean ice cream was in order as well. Knowing this would all meld beautifully, I just started scooping the pie with a spoon and ended with bowl fulls of dessert that looked more like cobbler than pie, but it all tasted good anyway. The guys and I took our treat to the theater for some T.V. time in the middle of the afternoon.

Later, as I finished more laundry I contemplated how nice it was to take a break with a big helping of dessert which pretty much substituted for lunch. I think that feeling of luxury and decadence is why my grandmother repeated that phrase. She was telling me take some time out from chores, from work, from everything I felt I had to do, to relax a little, to enjoy a dish of something good - something that signifies abundance by its nonessential nature. This lesson - stopping to enjoy each day just a little - is one we all need to carry with us. We become so caught up in the negatives - what we don't have, what we haven't done, what we can't accomplish - that we need to remember to savor a little sweetness every day. So go ahead - have piece of pie with your neighbor, take some cookies to work, call a friend while you nibble some cheesecake. Remember, life is short.