Fresh Figs, Honey, & Ricotta. Easy, elegant, and more importantly, a luxury for yourself.
Fresh Figs, Honey, & Ricotta Slideshow.
Fresh Figs, Honey, & Ricotta. Yes, more of the honeycomb tease!
Originally Published August 22, 2023.
Fresh Figs, Honey, & Ricotta, Transformation, & Daisy Jones and The Six
Last week, my daughter returned to school. The rhythm of school life began: the early morning routines, school drop-off, coffee, managing work deadlines, extracurricular activities, homework assignments, dinner on the table, practice, creative time and the sleep routine. Luckily, even as a child, I thrived on schedules and goal setting (I wrote schedules out for fun), so not surprisingly, my daughter, the offspring of two disciplined musicians, seems to appreciate it. Luckily, she also knows how to blow off steam and have a grand time with her friends!
Managing work and our personal lives, scheduling and delivering on promises, is a full time job for any fully functioning human being (or I'd like to think). Motherhood is not unlike any stable, longterm relationship. Just as a spark may initiate an interest in someone or something, that split moment can render and illuminate your other decisions. Your decisions to spend time with that person, to think of that person, to eventually love, to communicate fully and at the very least, give commitment a full try, start with that gut instinct. Whether it be romantic, a friendship, or just mutual cooperation, that fire can be transformative... opening worlds and ideas, closing down antiquated modes of thinking, or at the very least, spark intellectual debate and curiosity. That fire can mold and make communication, love, and respect stronger, and show areas where we might all need to learn more.
I've gone through many transitions in my life - all difficult, beautiful, and in the end, worth the pain to experience the illumination. Some seasons were longer and more painful than others. The most natural and also the most important transition for me was motherhood. I LOVE being a mother. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it. I embrace the domesticity (I would've made a great housewife) while also thrilled that I have the ability to work at a job I enjoy. But, just as in everything in life, balance is key. By the middle of last week, before the Hurricane 4 warnings, the earthquake, and the school closures, my brain was already starting to overload after readjusting to the new schedules, worrying about whether I had completed everything on my endless "to do" lists.
You can look up or listen to articles of radical transformation but my brain can only (usually) concentrate on two things: work and my family (with my friends as an extension). I used to beat myself up over it, wondering if I was supposed to acclimate to some superhuman parent version society loves to edify and simultaneously tear down, and then realized having the thought itself was the source of the dysfunction in the first place.
Now I considerate it a radical act of self preservation when I have an hour or two to myself each week. I still love having multiple plates in the air, but to truly listen with your heart is the best gift you can give anyone. Here's to sharing your love, your wisdom, and your heart to those who value you the most.
Here's some hilarious advice only moms can give (to help keep life in check).
Finally, life is beautiful, hard, gorgeous, and sometimes luscious as that sweet honey. Here's to transitions and transformations.
Daisy Jones & The Six - Look at Us Now- (Honeycomb)
Thanks for reading! Have a great week. Melissa
Fresh Figs, Honey, & Ricotta
Here's the recipe if you need it.
1. Pick out a playlist.
2. Meander to the store or farmer's market and pick up some fresh figs, honey, or better yet, honeycomb. Marvel at the luscious, decadence you'll about to devour. Pick up ricotta or better yet, make your own.
3. Put on the playlist. Cut, scoop, devour, enjoy. You deserve it!
