[2021-07-17] A cherished privilege
The nicest part of my day was cooking with my son. As I shared previously, for the past few months, Shane and I have spent a few hours each weekend cooking together. Today's creations were Low-Sugar Granola and Pizza Sauce and Pizza Dough.
This was our most productive and positive session yet. Shane was engaged and enthusiastic throughout.
Earlier in the day, a friend had sent me a pertinent quote by marketing expert and author Seth Godin:
Your drudgery is another person's delight. It's only a job if you treat it that way. The privilege to do our work, to be in control of the promises we make and the things we build, is something worth cherishing.
I hadn't shared the quote with Shane, but it's as if he had absorbed it by osmosis. He was a delight to spend time with as we chopped, measured, mixed, kneaded, talked and cleaned together. He appeared to look upon our session as a privileged opportunity to learn, rather than as a chore. And he fulfilled his promise to cook at least one meal per week for the family.
This was Shane's first time making a yeast dough. It was fun to watch him knead the dough, a task I've always enjoyed. I would demonstrate and he would emulate. I was learning to reverse engineer my technique so that I could explain it to him. And he was learning to mimic my approach while settling on a method that made sense to him.
Though I don't always succeed, I try to be a patient instructor. I endeavour to follow Shane's maxim: "Don't tell me what I'm doing wrong, just tell me how to do it right." It reminded me of a hilarious scene (Fold in the Cheese) between Moira Rose and her son, David, on Schitt's Creek:
Moira: Next step is to fold in the cheese.
David: What does that mean? What does "fold in the cheese" mean?
Moira: You fold it in.
David: I understand that, but how, how do you fold it? Do you fold it in half like a piece of paper and drop it in the pot, or what do you do?
Moira: David, I cannot show you everything.
David: Okay, well, can you show me one thing?
Moira: You just…here’s what you do. You just fold it in.
David: Okay, I don't know how to fold broken cheese like that!
Moira: Then I don't know how to be any clearer! You take that thing that's in your hand....
David: Uh-huh.
Moira: And you...
David: If you say "fold in" one more time...
Moira: It says, fold it in!
David: This is your recipe! You fold in the cheese then.
Shane and I never get to the point that one of us wants to storm off. On the contrary, we feel energized by our collective progress. I try to provide specific instructions and a few demonstrations so that Shane isn't guessing. And he takes direction well. We make a good team.
As Seth Godin said, the privilege to do work on behalf of ourselves and others—and cooking fits that bill—is worth cherishing. I won't always have a chance to cook with Shane every week, so I'm cherishing every opportunity that I get.
