Turn! Turn! Turn!

I have dough for two lovely pie crusts in my fridge, awaiting my making of cobblers.

Blackberry, cherry. 

No recipients for them yet intended, just general sharing with friends who come by.

I had surgery earlier this week, so the timing of the dough's "bake by" expiration is…untimely. It's today. So, I must either get busy with the oven, or spend my time taking out the trash - I'm not one to exceed food expiration dates.

Which got me thinking this morning - I've learned that things have (often unexpressed) expiration dates.

Relationships of all kinds - when either ill-suited to start with or neglected over time -  can have expiration dates. We get tired of trying...or not trying.

What perhaps hits us the most hard is the expiration of lives that we love - people whose very presence on this earth serves as a major root in our connection to being. 

When people expire, often without warning, it reminds us of the fragile nature of our very breath. We hold on more tenderly to those we love that remain. 

Hugs become firmer and warmer and less afraid of who's looking. Which is when they are at their most delicious, no?

We're all walking around with expiration dates - they are just hidden, thank goodness, as there is only so much drama I can stand in even one day. I'm personally having enough of a time managing not being able to breath through my nose this week, post-op. If you were to show me your expiration date, I would begin weeping rather inconsolably.

I'm going to make those cobblers, today, by golly, and then send a note to an old friend I've unintentionally neglected the past few months. 

Here's to whatever you're 'cooking' today - remember that it expires - so make it extra sweet!

Love,

Melinda


Illustration Credit: Keiko Nakabachi/Imagezoo/Getty Images