Layers, Love, and Cooking Casseroles

On a new year

“But what if I’m not ready?” cried bear.

“I’ll be right here with you,” replied bird. “I’ll always be right here.”

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📷: Parts + pieces of Pride, Evergreen, Phoenix Red, and Bl(ink)
…

Do you like casseroles?

Apparently, I do.

And recently, I’ve been making a lot of them.

Sort of.

With a loose picture of what I’m imagining, I cut and chop and season, adding a some of this with a little more of that. Then, I pop the pan in the oven and bake until it bubbles.

The results? Well, they’ve been varied. Even within the same casserole, one layer might sing, while the next sputters.

It’s a balance, I guess. And the outcomes are often unpredictable.

I’m learning. And I like that.

It’s sort of like life, isn’t it?

Sadness. Joy. Disbelief. Wonder. Grief.

Layered, that is.

Gratitude. Pride. A sense of accomplishment.

One stacked on top of the next.

Confusion. Hope. Fear. Urgency.

Mixing altogether when we cut into it.

Past. Present. Future.

A single-serve recipe of value and action baked together alongside 8 billion others in this oven called earth.

As we turn another page in our collective cookbook, my hope for you is a year filled with flavor, a year where you feel safe to experiment with your seasonings, where you are dressed with your values, and can allow others to offer you support and you can do the same for them.

Because we’re in this pan together, and the temperature is about to get turned way up. Again.

I believe in you. In us. Here’s to remembering what matters most and honoring that every day.

What is your favorite casserole?