FEAR

what I fear:

elevators that stop between floors

rejection

meter maids 

missing bill payments

loving too much

finance fees

disappointing my parents (still)

retirement fund statements

disappointing my kids

annual reports

knee injury

making big decisions

being alone with a box of powdered donuts

fundamentalism

bed bugs

humorless people

Martha Stewart craft projects

aiming too high

aiming too low

spreadsheets

getting:

1. old

2. sick

3. infirm

Dying

losing friendships

dull knives

losing opportunities

and I REALLY fear feeding my six-year-old:

Me: “You haven’t been eating your oatmeal lately William.

Is Mommy making it wrong? How would you like me to make it?”

William: “Mommy, make the oatmeal. Then sweeten it by not using sugar. (?)

Then add chocolate chips and bake it. “(?)

Me: “Bake it?”

William: “Put it in there.” (pointing to microwave)

Me (serving it up): “Do you still want a bowl of brown sugar on the side?”

nod

William (heaping brown sugar into his bowl, patting it down, tasting): “Brown sugar mixed with chocolate mixed with oatmeal doesn’t taste that good. I’m full.”

what I fear but face anyway:

elementary school principals

spreadsheets

disappointing my parents

social media

disappointing my children

driving on superhighways with kids and no snacks

making big decisions

baking soufflés

bungee jumping

cleaning artichokes

rejection

cleaning the cavities of raw chickens

Martha Stewart craft projects

losing opportunities

what/who I don’t fear:

needles

spiders

sharp knives

food processors

the left lane

the dark

dogs

people whose job it is to serve the public (politicians)

people whose job it is to protect me (police)

people whose job it is to cure me (doctors)

people whose job it is to fix my computer (IT)

people whose job it is to fill my spiritual needs (priests/ministers/rabbis/imams/gurus)

steep sledding hills

roller coasters

Martha Stewart

a good cry

This morning, I got it right. William ate his oatmeal. Face your fear.

Soufflé Au Fromage

courtesy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking

by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, Simone Beck

This recipe follows seven pages of mandatory reading on soufflé engineering. Skip them and risk your soufflé falling flat.