Issue link: https://fredparent.uberflip.com/i/894718
12 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • November 2017 It had been a culminating season of built-up stressors and a particularly emo- tional week. The tense political and societal climate was continuing to brew and make me feel hopeless and sad, the hurricane devastation in the South had made itself known to the rest of the country, and a friend's beloved family member had passed away untimely and unfairly. With so many significant and confounding issues swirling around me, I couldn't seem to find my way out of a profound funk of vulnerability and helplessness. Sometimes, it seems like this earth is given more than it can handle at a time, and as one tiny inhabitant of it, it seems like my small contributions could never make a dent of difference. I couldn't bring my friend's loved one back to life, nor could I dry up all the flooding of increasing natural disasters, but I could continue to do what I love and what perhaps I do best. I could cook. I could make food from scratch with my own hands and fingers, and feed the ones I love. Provide sustenance to them and serve my love and compas- sion on a plate bubbling with good- ness and tenderness. Treat them to something sweet, perhaps a bit too indulgent, and use the earth's boun- ty to fill it with fresh ingredients and natural deliciousness. You see, when everything seems to be going wrong, or when I feel like I have no control over tragic or chaotic occurrences, cooking is my therapy and my way to give something selflessly to those that I love. This is true for many people and home cooks. There is something indescribably cathartic about cooking, especially when just for others. To take a bunch of separate ingredients, use a bit of science, heat and strength to transform them into something that provides nourishment and pleasure for someone else—well, it's one of the best acts of kindness I can personally think to do. It is pure, complete love on a plate. WRITTEN BY DEBRA CAFFREY Love PIE practical pantry Cooking is my heart's language to convey its love and solace.