Dear Harpeth Hills:

It started with corn pudding.

Vicki made this new dish a few nights ago. She borrowed the recipe from a caterer friend, whose corn pudding had appeared at multiple events in the past.

It. Was. The. Bomb.

Oh my gosh, it was so good. It was like dessert in the middle of the meal. I ate three helpings. Shoot, I might have even dreamed about it that night. It was amazing.

I, like you, have experienced some less than happy days with Covid-19. Life has not been tragic for me at all over the past four months. No death, job loss, or major illness. But the bad news does seem to pile up, and one wonders when it will all end. Self-pity lurks at every corner, and joy is seemingly starved of oxygen.

And then one day you stand in the little kitchenette in the church office, eating leftover corn pudding, and all seems right with the world for just a moment. The carb high induces memories of other recent good things.
• A two-hour face to face conversation with a co-worker.
• Shingles shots are finally available. Yippee!
• Seeing an old friend for the first time in months.
• Losing five pounds of your Covid “15”. Okay, four pounds. Well, . . .at least three.
• The rose bush is blooming again.
• The dog still thinks you are great.

These days we might have to work extra hard to see the silver linings. Mustering up the energy to count blessings requires effort that we have been spending on worrying.

So, if you need something to prime your thanksgiving pump, I suggest corn pudding.

I love you.

Chris Smith