I pulled out my recipe for snickerdoodles, an old-time favorite for the holidays. I pulled out the required ingredients and read the first step in the recipe after greasing the cookie sheet. Cream the shortening, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until creamy. My mind flashed back to when I first learned how to bake, back in the day when cake mixes were a novelty or used for last-minute church suppers.
The kitchen was my mother’s paradise, and her instructions were gospel. To deter meant banishment from the stove.
First: “Wash your hands. No good cook comes to the kitchen with dirty hands.”
Next: “Now read the recipe, and put all the ingredients on the shelf.”
The third step, to my mother the most crucial in the whole process—“cream the shortening, butter, eggs, and sugars.”
I stuck in the rotary beaters, set the mixer on high and splashed wet globs from one end of the kitchen to the other. “Done,” I said.
Mother knew better--knew I was always in a hurry to get to the end of a project. “Nope. It’s too grainy. Set the beater on low, scrape the sides frequently, fold the batter, and repeat. Let time and the ingredients do their magic.”
Reluctantly, I started again, following her directions and, all the while, blowing out my frustration. “This takes too long.”
“Creaming is the most important step in the whole process,” Mother said. “If you hurry the creaming, the cookies will come out crumbly. Creaming is what makes them chewy and delectable. Don’t rush the creaming. It takes time but the result is worth it.”
I slowed down and watched with wonder as the goo gradually melded into a creamy, light texture, the ingredients transforming before my eyes.
As I carefully creamed for the snickerdoodles, Mother’s words took on new meaning for me.
I thought about our instant society, how we crave immediate results, the growing tendency to hurry through life in the fastest checkout line. In our haste we blunder through the mix of it all, leaving globs of broken dreams in the muck of our speed.
I thought how the creaming principle is true in all the rooms of our lives, not just the kitchen. We tend to rush for pleasure without enduring the process.
God has given us the recipe for a rich, textured life. If we take the time to cream our lives, not be satisfied with grainy goo or toss an experience aside because of its unpleasantness—if we repeatedly scrape, fold, and beat for as long as it takes, the grimy gook of our shattered hopes will become that creamed foundation that awakens the flavor of our human experience.
ABOUT I PRAYED FOR PATIENCE GOD GAVE ME CHILDREN
God indeed has a sense of humor. He chose children to teach us too-smart adults what being his child means, the very special relationship the believer enjoys with our Heavenly Father. We adults experience the same chaos, misadventure, and heartaches as our charges. Through a child’s example, we learn how God nurtures us with his infinitesimal patience. This easy to read, often hilarious narrative, uses cartoons, witticisms, anecdotes, quotes, and Scripture study to bring home these truths. A veteran social worker, Rondeau draws upon her many experiences in working with families as well as her personal experiences as a mom. You will want to keep this book close at hand for those moments of weakness and pass the story along to your friends.
ABOUT LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
Multi-published and award-winning author, Linda Wood Rondeau is a veteran social worker, her books examine the complexities of human relationships. Her blog, Snark and Sensibility, hosts writers of various genres. She manages a Facebook page, Having the Prime of My Life, a positive look at aging issues. Linda resides in Hagerstown with her husband of forty-plus years. Readers may visit her web site at www.lindarondeau.com. Contact the author on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
THE YEARS THE LOCUSTS ATE
JUNE FOSTER
12/28/2020
CATHEDRAL STATE PARK, WEST VIRGINIA
JOHN BARRINGER
12/21/2020
PRIME OF MY LIFE
GAIL KITTLESON
12/14/2020
FULL CIRCLE
JAYME H MANSFIELD
12/7/2020
GREEN STUFF AND HUBS
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
12/2/2020
NOEL: THE CAT WHO CAME FOR CHRISTMAS
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
11/30/2020
GREEN STUFF MAGIC
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
11/23/2020
WHEN GRANDMA FORGETS
CRYSTAL BOWMAN
11/2/2020
HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF BLUE ZONES?
SALLY JO PITTS
10/26/2020
FIVE WAYS SENIORS CAN BOOST THEIR IMMUNE SYSTEMS
GINNY DENT BRANT
10/19/2020
IF YOU CAN'T BEAT 'EM JOIN 'EM
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
9/28/2020
WALKING IN A WRITER'S WONDERLAND
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
9/7/2020
CREAMING
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
8/31/2020
LIFE IS THE ADVENTURE
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
8/24/2020
QUITTING MY DAY JOB
DEBRA COLEMAN JETER
8/17/2020
ADAPT OR DIE
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
7/27/2020
SAY THANK YOU TO OUR FRIENDS IN BLUE
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
7/20/2020
THE SWEET COUPLE HOLDING HANDS
MELISSA HENDERSON
7/13/2020
SURPRISE! SURPRISE! SURPRISE!
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
7/6/2020
FROM FICTION TO NON-FICTION AND BACK AGAIN
GAIL KITTLESON
6/29/2020
WHO SAID GROWING OLD IS FUN?
MARTHA ROGERS
6/22/2020
AND NOT TO YIELD
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
6/15/2020
MY CULTURAL DISCONNECT
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
6/8/2020
WHAT IS RETIREMENT
JULIE COSGROVE
6/1/2020
LOOKING UP OR LOOKING AWAY
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
5/25/2020
SEEKING GOD
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
5/11/2020
HOW OLD ARE YOU
Rachel J. Good
5/4/2020
IT'S NOT OKAY
MARTIN WILES
4/27/2020
EMBRACING MY INNER BOOMER
BARBARA BRITTON
4/20/2020
THE RACE FOR LILY
SHERRI STEWART
4/13/2020
GRANNY ALICE
LYNNE BASHAM TAGAWA
4/6/2020
RESILIENCE
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
3/29/2020
LIVING WITH CHANGE
MARTIN WILES
3/9/2020
WHEN THE GROCERY STORE CLERK HAS TO CHECK YOUR AGE
MELISSA HENDERSON
2/24/2020
THE IMPORTANCE OF CREAMING
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
2/17/2020
FRIENDS AT ANY AGE
ERIN UNGER
2/3/2020
IDENTITY CHECK
MARTIN WILES
1/27/2020
IF YOU CAN'T BEAT 'EM, JOIN 'EM
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
1/20/2020
MY POSSESSIONS MATURE ALONG WITH ME
MARIE WATTS
1/13/2020
EYES FRONT
TERRI MAIN
1/6/2020
THE TIMES THEY ARE A CHANGING'
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
12/30/2019
SANTA'S RELUCTANT HELPER
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
12/23/2019
THE PURSUIT OF WEALTH
DEBRA COLEMAN JETER
12/16/2019
VANQUISHING THE CHRISTMAS BLUES
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
12/9/2019
GRANDMAS THEN VS GRANDMAS NOW
GAIL SATTLER
12/2/2019
TECHNO BLUES
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
11/25/2019
ADAPT OR DIE
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
11/18/2019
CREAMING
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
11/11/2019
When our Get Up and Go Gets Up and Goes
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
11/4/2019
LIFE IS THE ADVENTURE
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
10/28/2019
MY LIFE AS A BARCODE
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
10/21/2019
THE QUEST FOR THIN
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
10/14/2019
THE AMERICAN DREAM
ANGELA BREIDENBACH
10/7/2019
FROM GOLDEN YEARS TO GOLDEN BELLS
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
9/30/2019
THE CHORDS THAT BIND MY MEMORIES
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
9/23/2019
JUST BE STILL
MARTIN WILES
9/16/2019
PRINCE CHARMING, SPIDERS, AND CHEMO
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
9/2/2019
GRAY IS GRAND
LOREE PEERY
8/26/2019
A GOOD QUESTION
GEORGE CARGILL
8/19/2019
LOVING THE BABY BOOMER GENERATION
ERIN UNGER
8/12/2019
MAKING PRETTY THINGS
KATHY MCKINSEY
8/5/2019
ARE YOU TOO OLD TO BECOME AN AUTHOR
HARRY WEGLEY
7/29/2019
ENJOY THE MEAL
MARTIN WILES
7/22/2019
IN THE GOOD OLD SUMMERTIME
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
7/15/2019
KEEPING IT FRESH
WANDA O. HOT
7/8/2019
OVERFLOWING WITH BLESSINGS
CLEO LAMPOS
7/1/2019
HAVING THE PRIME OF MY LIFE
JO MASSARO
6/24/2019
GOLDEN GIRL
PAT JEANNE DAVIS
6/17/2019
WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW
CLEO LAMPOS
6/10/2019
Food, Families, and Fond Memories
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
6/3/2019
FOR THOSE OVER FIFTY-FIVE
JUNE FOSTER
5/20/2019
NEXT GENERATION
KATHLEEN NEELY
5/13/2019
Mimi and Bop
Melissa Henderson
5/6/2019
NEVER TO OLD TO START OVER
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
4/29/2019
THE WRITER'S CALLING
SHERRI STEWART
4/15/2019
PLAYING THROUGH THE FOG
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
4/8/2019
SOMETIMES WE JUST NEED TO TURN OFF THE GPS
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
4/1/2019
DON’T CALL HER MA’AM
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
3/25/2019
When Your Past Looms Longer than Your Future
Debra Coleman Jeter
3/18/2019
OUR MCDONALDS
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
3/11/2019
BORN TOO LATE
DIANNE BARKER
3/4/2019
PERSPECTIVE
LISA LICKEL
2/25/2019
IS IT THE BEGINNING OR THE END
KATHLEEN NEELY
2/18/2019
MY TO-DO LIST
SHERRI STEWART
2/11/2019
ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
2/3/2019
MAMA, I CAN'T TAKE A BATH THERE'S A FISH IN THE TUB
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
1/21/2019
EAT RIGHT NOW LIVE LONGER LATER
Jude Urbanski
1/14/2019
AM I STRESSED?
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
1/7/2019
SHOULD VS WANT
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
12/31/2018
I'LL BE ALONE FOR CHRISTMAS ... YOU CAN COUNT ON ME
Julie Cosgrove
12/24/2018
THE ONLY CONSTANT IS CHANGE
LINDA SHENTON MATCHETT
12/17/2018
LIVING WITHOUT REGRET
Grant Ferguson
12/10/2018
GROWING UP CAN BE FUN SO IS GETTING OLDER
ELLIE GUSTAFSON
12/3/2018
SOARING WITH BROKEN WINGS
Linda Wood Rondeau
11/19/2018
NEVER TOO LATE
DIANE TATUM
11/5/2018
The Not So Good Good Old Days
Linda Wood Rondeau
10/22/2018