Joy in the Journey - Spaghetti A La Floor
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Joy in the Journey column published by Graphic Publications and appearing in The Bargain Hunter and Wooster Weekly News
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Joy in the Journey - Spaghetti A La Floor
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Joy in the Journey - Spaghetti A La Floor
The other night, I had a life lesson in grace. We were making spaghetti for supper, and the kids had finished setting the table and were all in their seats ready to eat. Mike had made his famous hot-dog-bun-garlic-bread, and the spaghetti sauce was simmering and smelling divine. All I had to do was drain the noodles and serve up the spaghetti.
I grabbed my hot pads and picked up the large stock pot full of boiling water and spaghetti noodles. As I approached the sink where the colander was waiting for me, I saw Mike standing there but I said nothing.
Big mistake.
Like slow motion replay it happened. Mike turned. The pot bumped him in the back. The hot water splashed over the sides and hit my hands causing me to drop it on the floor. Mike and I both leaped back as hot water and spaghetti noodles began to spread everywhere.
The kids all sat at the table with their mouths hanging open, and Mike and I stood there in utter silence. For what seemed like minutes, which was probably only seconds, we just stared back and forth at the mess now on the floor and then at each other.
Then Mike smiled. I smiled. And we all laughed. What felt like a suppertime tragedy became a family adventure in grace and creative cooking.
Mike began cleaning up the sloppy mess, the kids went to get their baths in (since we now had some time to kill) and I opened the pantry door to see if we had another box of spaghetti noodles to try again.
No spaghetti noodles. No rigatoni or ziti noodles. No pasta noodles of any sort other than lasagna, which was too much work for one tired mom. So it was time to get creative.
I found three boxes of macaroni and cheese and decided pasta was pasta. I took out the cheese powder packets and stuck them in my pantry door for another day. I boiled the noodles, drained them (successfully this time) and tossed in the spaghetti sauce. I added some parmesan and mozzarella cheese, stirred it up and declared it done.
Everyone re-gathered around the supper table, take two, and I served up my new concoction.
Everyone took a bite, and I held my breath, waiting for their reaction. They loved it! Hannah named it Spaghetti-Mac and we had a hit on our hands. A hit with our new family favorite recipe, and a hit with our family handling a messy situation with grace and joy.
Sometimes things go your way. Your workday goes smoothly. Your kids listen to you.
Your house stays clean and you get the promotion you have been waiting for.
And sometimes you end up dropping a full stockpot of boiling water and spaghetti noodles on the floor and have to find joy even in that.
We can all be joyful when things go our way. But true joy is found in those spaghetti a la floor moments of life.
I don’t always get it right, but I am learning.
Now if I can just figure out what to do with my extra mac and cheese powder.
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Catch up with Trish at http://www.trishberg.com/, follow her on Twitter or friend her on Facebook get your copy of all 3 of her books at Amazon.com.
I grabbed my hot pads and picked up the large stock pot full of boiling water and spaghetti noodles. As I approached the sink where the colander was waiting for me, I saw Mike standing there but I said nothing.
Big mistake.
Like slow motion replay it happened. Mike turned. The pot bumped him in the back. The hot water splashed over the sides and hit my hands causing me to drop it on the floor. Mike and I both leaped back as hot water and spaghetti noodles began to spread everywhere.
The kids all sat at the table with their mouths hanging open, and Mike and I stood there in utter silence. For what seemed like minutes, which was probably only seconds, we just stared back and forth at the mess now on the floor and then at each other.
Then Mike smiled. I smiled. And we all laughed. What felt like a suppertime tragedy became a family adventure in grace and creative cooking.
Mike began cleaning up the sloppy mess, the kids went to get their baths in (since we now had some time to kill) and I opened the pantry door to see if we had another box of spaghetti noodles to try again.
No spaghetti noodles. No rigatoni or ziti noodles. No pasta noodles of any sort other than lasagna, which was too much work for one tired mom. So it was time to get creative.
I found three boxes of macaroni and cheese and decided pasta was pasta. I took out the cheese powder packets and stuck them in my pantry door for another day. I boiled the noodles, drained them (successfully this time) and tossed in the spaghetti sauce. I added some parmesan and mozzarella cheese, stirred it up and declared it done.
Everyone re-gathered around the supper table, take two, and I served up my new concoction.
Everyone took a bite, and I held my breath, waiting for their reaction. They loved it! Hannah named it Spaghetti-Mac and we had a hit on our hands. A hit with our new family favorite recipe, and a hit with our family handling a messy situation with grace and joy.
Sometimes things go your way. Your workday goes smoothly. Your kids listen to you.
Your house stays clean and you get the promotion you have been waiting for.
And sometimes you end up dropping a full stockpot of boiling water and spaghetti noodles on the floor and have to find joy even in that.
We can all be joyful when things go our way. But true joy is found in those spaghetti a la floor moments of life.
I don’t always get it right, but I am learning.
Now if I can just figure out what to do with my extra mac and cheese powder.
**************************************************************
Catch up with Trish at http://www.trishberg.com/, follow her on Twitter or friend her on Facebook get your copy of all 3 of her books at Amazon.com.
Posted by Trish Berg 6:00 AM
Labels: Graphic Publications Column, Joy in the Journey Column, The Bargain Hunter, Wooster Weekly News
Glad no one was badly burned with the boiling water.
Thanks for sharing.
T
We had a similar experience a few years ago. We still remember it fondly. Thanks for the reminder!