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Sunday, April 09, 2006

Can You Smell Quiet?

As I have been preparing all of my family's favorite dishes for Easter I noticed something remarkable...

I can smell my quiet voice...And the nurturing voices of the women of my past.

Does that sound a bit, well, woo-woo? Well, have you ever smelled something and been transported to a very vivid memory? That is what I am talking about.

For me the quiet of cooking evokes smells of my childhood...Different dishes trigger different feelings and voices.

Bread, Wedding Soup, Pizza Roustica, Pizzelles, Honey Balls and Bow Ties...Evoke the voices of My Mother, Aunt Marie, Nana and My Aunt Jennie.

The smell of bread baking...

the rhythm of kneading the bread...

the smooth texture as it begins to become what it was born to become...

I am the bread and the baker!

I hear my Aunt Jennie (she died a few years ago at 96 years old) a little powerhouse of a woman who taught me lessons on being faith-filled, disciplined, giving and generous, direct in speaking my mind and how to bake bread. All these lessons came with a special twinkle in her eye...She was fresh and playful right to the end.

Aunt Jennie called me Michealina and made me "earn" the bread recipe...Leaving a few steps out each time... I would try to make the bread like hers, and when it did not come out "nice, nice" I would call her for help and she would give me another trick...Eventually I earned the full deal and am now charged with passing the recipe down so that both it and Aunt Jennie lives forever.

At the holidays I bake 10 pounds of flour...The smell is in the house all day long...About 10 loaves get baked. I spend time with Aunt Jennie and myself as I cook.

Work keeps me on a very fast pace...

This special kind of quiet time keeps me connected to the women and traditions of my people...

Which ultimately keeps me connected to my best self.

I encourage you to inhale, smell your quiet and rediscover yourself!

Read more inspirational stories like this one in my upcoming book

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