What I really enjoy

It has taken many years and the dashing of many expectations to understand who I really am and what I really love. Growing up, my dad got to do what he loved for a career as a farmer. I always thought that is how it should be. So why did I find myself not "loving" my job every day?!? Because it is my job! (Don't get me wrong, I do believe I have one of the best jobs in the world - sharing the vibrant and beautiful women of the Yellowstone Valley!)

If I am looking for a way to de-stress and do what I really love, I feed people! Yes, feed people. Big people, little people, young people, old people. It really doesn't matter to me. Many impromptu dinners are thrown together on weeknights with friends and when friends have babies, I am excited to supply sustenance for the long days and weeks ahead.

Today the recipients of my "love" are a bunch of precious 1st graders. Summer birthdays mean early celebrations with classmates, so that means early birthday treats.

My youngest wanted a big cookie, so that is what he will get. I forgot to make it last night, so thankfully he had requested something pretty basic.

YAY for willpower - I didn't eat any dough!

As I began adding the individual ingredients, I reflected on why I love to cook. Maybe it is because cooking is like life. You add a lot of different people and experiences into a pot and see what you get. It is easy to stick to the basics - like chocolate chip cookie ingredients. They are familiar and comforting. But what happens when you begin to add "exotic" ingredients? New people? New experiences?