I hear a lot about living in the moment. And complaints about how cell phones and their evolution into miniature computers has none of us living in the moment. To be fair, I do think my “device” has changed my brain a little bit. I mean, all of my lists are kept there, and my calendar, so I never have to actually remember anything. And it’s true that I find myself thinking in social media bites (oh! I should get a picture of that for social media). Guilty.
But as I was canning tomatoes the other day, it occurred to me that we’ve never just truly lived in the moment. I mean, I wasn’t just sitting on the porch enjoying that moment of tomato season. Nope, I was thinking about the future when there aren’t going to be any tomatoes. And yesterday, when I was smoking jalapenos to preserve them into the winter months when we won’t have that flavor (or heat) again.
This time of year often churns me into a preservation frenzy. When the evening weather is perfect for porch sitting and just enjoying the moment, I find myself rushing around putting things in jars because THIS MOMENT ISN’T GOING TO BE HERE MUCH LONGER! I know, I know, the irony. But maybe I’ll enjoy that winter moment when I’m eating some crazy delicious home grown organic chipotle tomato sauce from food I preserved in late September. Maybe.
