[2020-09-23] Baking

A few weeks after my surgery, I was able to help my daughter with baking. I would sit at the kitchen table, and she would pull everything we needed out of the cupboards and fridge. I could measure ingredients, stir them together, and shape or pour the resulting mixture into a pan. She would do all the lifting, fetching and monitoring.

Now almost four weeks after surgery, while I'm still assembling ingredients at the kitchen table (as opposed to standing at the counter), I can do everything on my own: gather the ingredients, assemble them, pull out and prep pans, and put the sweet treat in the oven. I feel like a big girl.

Actually, I feel like someone who is healing.

For the first time since surgery, I can walk faster than my 13½-year-old dog. I can go up and down stairs with ease. And I can sleep with little discomfort. All great signs of recovery.

But my favourite activity to resume is baking. On three occasions now—initially with my daughter's help and inspired by my sister—I've been making cookies for my mom. We prepare the dough, shape it into balls, flash freeze them, and then put them in a takeaway container. My mom can then bake them as she needs them; with little effort, she has warm-from-the-oven cookies to enjoy whenever she likes.

I feel that this is one small way in which I'm paying forward all your kindnesses. But here's where you can help me again. If you have a great recipe for cookies, squares or other treats that can be prepared and frozen for later baking, send it my way.

Cooking—and, especially, baking—has always seemed to be one of the best ways to share love. Your caring has filled me with the positive energy to bring joy to others, as you have to me.