Recipes: A Memorial in the Mundane

Often times, photographs are the medium in which family history is discussed and reminisced. Faded photographs with corners curling like ribbon are pulled from musty boxes and laid lovingly on the table. Though photographs are cherished, another story-telling keepsake are recipes. What can better transport you to Grandma's house that the wafting aroma of her biscuits? The spice of an apple pie? What about Great Grandma's passed down recipe for preserves or jelly?

Just as photographs, recipes can be a family heirloom

- an important part of history and a spur to memories.

I remember entering my great grand-mothers house as a child with my olfactory senses romanced by fresh bread. The rough table, her gentle yet roughened voice talking to Mom, the knitted afghan, the simple house - these faded and warped memories come back with a vengeance with the smell of that recipe. Photographs spur a flat image - Recipes round it out in 3-D.

Even pulling out recipes and making dishes keep family history alive. Seeing fluid handwriting, the curve of a 'p', the gentle swoop of an 'l', revive memories of generations gone by. Mixing the ingredients, formed with love, serve as a memorial etched in a mundane day. Once the recipe comes out of the oven, igniting olfactory senses, a feeling of calm and nostalgia sets in.

Are you ready? Let's go down Recipe Lane.

Acts of Whimsy

What mental picture does this image prompt?

Now how about this one?

If you answered, "A reminder to check on my home-owners insurance policy," you are INCORRECT.

If you answered, "A reminder to live a zany and un-encumbered life of whimsy," then you are correct.

For those of you vocab-deficit readers who are wondering if 'whimsy' is a magical concoction in Cinderella, here is the definition:

• quality of being fanciful
•  something quaint or unusual
•  capricious humor or disposition; extravagant, fanciful, or excessively playful expression

In this day and age reading a fairy tale on the Metro is whimsical. Baking a delicious dessert for the main course is something a playful child would do. Walking on your hands at age 65 is not the norm. Buying a sailboat instead of a house is unusual. Decorating your living room with rainbows and bubble gum would seem a tad, well, psychotic.

These are somewhat extravagant and dramatic examples of playful and fanciful acts to get your imagination rolling.

Got it?

Are you ready?

The time is nigh to commit daily acts of whimsy.

Think on your daily routine.

• Is it buying a beta fish in a flower vase to decorate your dining room table?
• Is it joining a yoga class with the goal of being able to stand on your head to impress your grandkids?
• What about taking a quilting class to fulfill a dream?
• How about putting a little extra in the offering plate although it's not quite sensible?
• Is it your mature adult self going to an animated Pixar movie?

“Living a life fully engaged and full of whimsy and the kind of things that love does is something most people plan to do, but along the way they just kind of forget. ”

Bob Goff, author of the quote above, relays story upon story infused with whimsy in his best-selling book "Love Does," using his memoirs as a chance to encourage others to not wait until 'next time.' From having an office located on Disneyland's Treasure Island, to wooing his wife leaving peanut butter sandwiches under her windshield wipers, the entire book ripples with spontaneity. Besides being a good read, it is ripe with whimsy fodder for your daily to do list.

Are you ready to join ACCFamily in remembering spontaneity and fanciful, life-giving encounters?

Let's do it. Let's partake in acts of whimsy.

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ACC Family: Our Story

Our Story: We are Adult Companion Care. We are a world-changing home health care company. In 1994 we were caring for my wife's grandmother. We were only 5 hours away from her, but this was a world away when we got the call, "I am on the floor and there is no one here to help me get up." We found some local folks to help and they did help...they helped themselves to some money and to a lot of the food in the refrigerator! In the midst of all this turmoil, someone told my father-in-law that there were companies who provided home care to seniors in this condition as a service. We thought, "What a great idea!"

We started on February 7, 1994. I was the first and only employee. Over the years, I have done every job in the company (except being a nurse as I am not an RN). I have spent the night with clients and changed their soiled diapers. I have cooked and cleaned and driven a zillion miles. I even carried food to a snowed-in client during a snowstorm and carried a substitute caregiver on my back through snow drifts. It has been extraordinary!

We now have been doing this for 18 years this month. We have three offices in three states. We have had the honor to serve many incredible people ranging from Supreme Court Justices, members of the U.S. Senate, and presidential advisors to the sweetest example of a loving mother who never worked a day outside the home who was surrounded by her five blue-collar sons. All this has only increased our desire to serve.

We encourage you to give us a call or visit our website at www.adultcompanioncare.com. Allow us to serve you. We have a team that is second to none! You will be able to tell the difference.

Jim Lindsay  CEO