Cooking up Care

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“When I was a nanny for a special needs child, it changed the way I viewed the world!” – Angela Suitor

Cooking up Care

“Thanks for your patience and help!”  The woman, a stranger, standing with me at the counter said.

I didn’t know her name at the time.  She just happened to be in the Le Creuset store when I arrived.  Since we shared an interest in high quality cookware, our ability to engage in conversation seemed to evolve naturally.  It’s something I’ve come to expect and enjoy during my regular visits to this culinary haven in Park City.  And on this occasion for good reason, because this interaction was about to become a unique learning opportunity.

I was talking with this new acquaintance, Krista Parkinson, about the wonderful features of Le Creuset’s newer line of hardened, nonstick cookware, just before she was ready to purchase a couple of enamel-coated-cast-iron pieces.  Krista’s only expressed complaint about her selected items was their heft.  Those of you who have used cast iron for cooking understand the advantage and also the disadvantage of its heavy weight.  Such weight can be a huge burden at times.  Especially for a chef of slight-build like Krista.  And, being a thoughtful person, she was also feeling some angst about taking so long to make her final decision, while talking with Angela Suitor, the staff Le Creuset specialist and me about some suggested alternatives.  That’s why she thanked us for our patience.

Then Krista continued, “I was once in a grocery store in Los Angeles (her home city) when a woman behind me, while checking out, responded to my heartfelt thanks for patience with, ‘I used to be an impatient person, right up to the time I became the mother of two special needs children. Having them in my life gave me new insight into the human experience!  My children taught me to focus on people, not all the trivia.’”

Angela then enhanced our conversation with, “When I was a nanny for a special needs child, it changed the way I viewed the world!”

As Angela spoke, I glanced between the two women, watching their eyes connect through understanding.  They knew a lot more about heft than a singular reference to cast iron.  They understood the weight of human burden and how to help lift it.  And, particularly about the burdens carried by others around us, without our knowing.  This shared understanding, confirmed through the light of eyes, created an instant, deeper bond between us.

“Thanks for your patience and help!”  The woman, Krista Parkinson, standing with Angela Suitor and me at the counter said.

I didn’t know her name at the time.  She just happened to be in the Le Creuset store when I arrived.  Now I knew that we shared an interest in high quality cookware and an understanding that everyone around us is, often times, experiencing extraordinary emotional weight and worry that is often unknown to us.  So, our ability to engage in conversation seemed to evolve naturally.  It’s something, that I didn’t expect when I arrived at this culinary haven in Park City. 

That’s because, on this occasion, our interaction wasn’t just about gourmet cookware, it was about sharing insight into the human experience!  A shared understanding, confirmed through the light of eyes, about being conscious of cooking up a renewed focus on lifting the burdens of everyone around us.