I chopped an onion and sauteed it in butter with the minced garlic in one skillet while I poured chicken broth into the 8-quart soup pot and turned the burner to high. I added three kinds of meat into the pot: one cup of chicken, ½ pound of sausage, and the last small bag of Christmas ham. All of them pre-cooked and frozen waiting for the day when I needed them. That day was taking a long time to come so I decided to make Refrigerator Soup.
To this mix, I eventually added broccoli, cauliflower, potato broth, mushrooms, salsa, cheese, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. I sat down to type while the ingredients simmered together. Eventually the steam was roiling, and it needed my attention.
It’s been hard to find the words to describe these days of last things. I feel a little bit like Refrigerator Soup – so many things swirling around – last field trip, last class, last test, and the schoolwork is complete. There have been open houses, celebrations, and running into people from different seasons of homeschooling. I have been greeting strangers at the airport and welcoming them to Nashville. Today was the one-year wedding anniversary of the oldest child, the funeral for the unexpected death of a scrapbooking friend, and a good friend’s shoulder surgery. Over the weekend, I had long conversations with my girls, went to doctorate graduation for my daughter-in-law and finally tasted Hattie B’s hot chicken.
The theme of these days is a little discombobulated. Grateful. Wistful. Reflect-ful. Numb. Ready to be officially done. Waiting to celebrate. Waiting to officially finish. It will come. In the meantime, I’m a little like Refrigerator Soup – a little bit of this and a little bit of that. How are you?
