A Recipe for Hope and Snow Day Soup
Nothing like 19 inches of snow falling in New England to bring out our neighborly instincts and remind us that most people in this country, and in this world, are essentially good.
We live in a two family house with three adults, and three teenagers in total at the moment, but for various reasons I was the only one out there shoveling this morning at 10 am, and I was feeling like the task ahead was more than I could handle. My next door neighbor was playing Little Red Corvette on his outdoor speaker, which was humorous and nice because I find everything feels a bit easier with music. But still….
I took a break and headed inside. My husband took over the shoveling. A half hour later I came out to a blessed scene. Our neighbor Sonny from across the street, who we don’t know very well, and his 7 year old step son, had come over with his snow blower and we were mostly dug out. It felt like a small miracle.
It also gave me a chance to talk with Sonny, who I’ve seen walking his dog or tending to his bees for 5 or so years now. I’ve nodded hello to him countless times, but I never knew that Sonny was a firefighter. And that he works two 24 hours shifts per week, which is why he’s often around. And that he got this amazingly powerful snow blower for free because it was broken and the owner wanted to get rid of it, and Sonny was clever enough to fix the carburetor and get it up and running. He wouldn’t take any money from us, he simply said, “We’re neighbors, this is what we do for each other.”
My other neighbor packed up some chicken stew for Sonny and his family to enjoy. We all kept track of Sonny’s step son as we did the finishing touches on our driveways. This energetic young boy was very busy “helping” to dig a path to the bird feeder” and enjoying himself immensely.
I share this simple story today amidst a back drop of violence and despair in our country right now. Our cousin was in town from Minneapolis this past weekend and we asked him for a report from the front lines. He said, “Well, what do you want to hear first, the stories of despair or the stories of hope, because there are certainly both happening at the same time.”
I have to believe this is always true, amidst the darkness there are sparks of hope, the Sonny’s of this world who surprise us with their generosity. It is in these seemingly small acts, neighbors helping neighbors, that we continue to nurture the seeds for the world that we want to pass on.
I bless us all to show up in the ways that we each feel called, to bring kindness to our precious communities.
If you, or someone you know, feels like you need or want support around a health issue, or just support more generally as we weather these difficult times, please reach out!
I am currently accepting insurance for acupuncture. Check out my website for details.
I also offer nourishment counseling sessions and private and group cooking classes. Check out my website for details.
And, if you’re feeling called, as I do, on snowy days, to get busy in the kitchen, here is a recipe for Very Garlicky, Very Gingery Chicken Soup from one of my favorite cookbooks, “Clean Soups”, by Rebecca Katz. It is a delicious and nourishing soup!
In hope, Ilana
