SAVOR THE SMALL MOMENTS, HE TOLD ME.

 

  As you may know, I occasionally get God-messages which come as thoughts in words I normally do not use. Last Spring I got, "Don't let him steal your peace," speaking of DT of course, followed by "Savor the small moments."

  So that is something I am trying to do. When I was walking our dog recently, I tried not to worry about what is coming down the pike or how grim the climate news is. I told myself, "Look at the white asters by the road. Look at the sunlight on the orange jewelweed. 

Focus on your dog's happy, waving tail." It helps to just see lovely things in front of me which can cheer my heart and lift my spirits.

  Sipping a small cup of espresso this morning, I crunched down on two GF chocolate chip cookies from one of my low-FODMAP sites. Man, they are good! And then you pair them with a steaming cup of dark, strong coffee, what's not to like? That's a small moment that opens out into delight.

 

  Viewing a FT video from my "kids" in Long Island recently, I saw their new puppy--a goldendoodle--called Burgy. As Rick said "If I were in the kidnapping business, I would snatch that dog." 

What a sweet face he has. Seeing him lying across my son's knees might not lift everyone's spirits, but it did mine. A house never seems a home to me without a dog. Although cat lovers could say the same about a cat.

  I made a low-FM turkey meatloaf (I have not made meatloaf in decades!) from a recipe of Rachel Pauls recently, with a sweet brown sugar, mustard, and tomato paste glaze on top. It was seriously delicious. Again, a "small" moment, but one giving real satisfaction and delight.

 

  I harvested 4 large heritage tomatoes the other day from one of my raised bed gardens. I put them on the sunny windowsill to ripen further, imagining what I might make with them. Not enough to can, but enough to make sauce with or perhaps cut up some for a lentil/shepherd's pie.

 Rereading 'Nella Last's War" is something I continue to savor, no matter how often I have read this superb and moving diary, set in 1939-1946. Her courage in the face of adversity, her ingenuity in making rations last and go further, her delight in helping others with the Women's Volunteer Service may seem like a small moment, but it isn't. Her words fall into my heart and live there, reminding me that she and others got through hard times, and so will we. Not such a small moment to savor at all.  

 

  Savor comes from the Middle English "to taste" and further back from the French language. I know this is not correct, but I cannot help but think that "savor" is very close to "saveur," French for "to save." I believe that tasting the small moments in our life which give us joy is also a way to save ourselves, especially in these difficult, worrying times. I plan on going out through my day looking for moments which can "save" me and which I can taste and delight in.