A Butter New Year!

 So, this year I am going to take a fresh approach. I don't do New Year's Resolutions - there's so much to put on that list that I've failed before I've even begun. However, I do like to have a theme for the New Year - a lens or a perspective through which I try to see events throughout the year. This year for me it's... butter. 


Let me explain.

One morning, I was going to make the family Puffy Cake for breakfast - this is our family favorite; it's a puffed-up oven-baked pancake and you need lots of butter for the skillet. I got everyone's hopes up only to find - you guessed it - no butter. Not a lick, nor a stick. Well, this really pissed me off, for not only was I now to dash my families hopes for a delicious breakfast, but this lack of butter represented something bigger. You know, when something acts as symbol for all that ails you at the moment - which for me was the utter futility and hopelessness of trying to maintain a household. Trying to maintain a household for me is akin to Sisyphus and his eternally falling rock.  So, menu changed - now it was hard-boiled eggs or oatmeal. Can't remember which, only that there wasn't any butter for the damn toast either. 

As I am stomping around the kitchen in a foul mood, I hardly noticed Daughter 2 busy with a whisk and bowl. She'd found a carton of cream in the refrigerator and was busy whipping it up - no, she was not making whipped cream. She was making - yup - butter! The girls sometimes like to make fresh butter out of whipping cream but we'd always made it with an air-tight jar (which takes a long time and a lot of literal elbow grease; I usually hate making it because I end up shaking the jar - for an annoyingly long time.) I have no idea what possessed my little one to try to make it with a whisk (she probably didn't want to ask me for a jar since I was not in the best of moods.) The whisk worked great and was actually faster than the jar method. Voila - butter! So we actually did get to have butter on our toast (too late for the Puffy Cake, sorry to say.) And now, whenever we make butter (which isn't often - don't want to give you the impression that I am Super-Susie-Homemaker or anything) we now use the whisk only - it's definitely faster and makes a wonderful butter.

So, here's what I would like to take from the butter incident into this New Year 2012: 

• My children are my teachers: Sometimes life feels like one big to-do list and the kids are right there on it. This can make me down right grumpy. When I really contemplate my life, though, and what I have learned, my girls have been my greatest teachers. All I know now, I would not have learned without them. And they continue to bring new aspects of life into my orbit - like Daughter 1's love of horses and Daughter 2's love of tennis. Relationships in general are our great teachers. So this year, I am putting on my listening cap and being open to what I can learn from my children and from others around me.

• Get creative and try something different: At the moment, I just went with the obvious - no butter, no Puffy cake. I wonder how often I do this in life - miss out because I just couldn't see another way or didn't even bother to try. Sometimes others show us a different way; sometimes we can find it ourselves. I have many things I need to find solutions for this year - I need to get creative and try a different approach. Maybe with a tool I'd never thought of before.

• Mix it up and get physical: Hey, put in a little elbow grease and there is a total transformation; what started out as weak cream became fluffy whipped cream and then firm butter. Hey, if that can happen with a whisk, then maybe a little physical action on my part will lead to a leaner and firmer me. Don't need fancy tools either - just a whisk, or maybe a whip, or really just some walking shoes. 

• It'll all come together:  When I know what I want to do and have an intention and then commit, somehow it all comes together. A good, clear goal benefits everyone - there'll be butter and buttermilk. A little something for everyone. Trust the process.

• Take some time to rinse off and rest: I need to remember to take care of myself this year (this is my single biggest challenge.) A shower or relaxing bath can do wonders to restore my mental balance (you may be wondering what the heck this has to do with butter; indeed, you do need to rinse off all the buttermilk and drain the liquids off the butter before packing it into a container.) And I need to pack myself into bed in a timely manner before I melt (gee, this kind of fun!)

• Savor the sweet moments: Fresh, homemade butter tastes so sweet and good. I feel so grateful for its simple goodness and for the abundance that it represents. Each day I want to express gratitude for those sweet moments, situations and relationships that exist in my life. If my daughter's homemade butter can transform my attitude of grumpiness to sheer delight, then finding the good in each day can surely transform the everyday doldrums to an attitude of gratitude for that which I have in my life.

I am hoping that you can bring some of the sweetness and goodness of our butter moment into your life this year. Or maybe, you have your own butter moment that will lend its own unique perspective to your year. Feel free to share.

However it dishes out, I wish you a sweet New Year full of wonderful delights! Happy New Year...

Warmly, Susan