What I Used to Be…

And what I am now, and it’s all okay

Photo by Immo Wegmann on Unsplash

When I review who I used to be and compare it to who I am now, I am shocked at the roles and responsibilities I have discarded like clothes that no longer fit or serve any purpose.

Here are a few things which I am no longer:

Young

Nope, no matter how I slice it, I can’t claim to be young anymore. Heck, I can’t even see middle age in the rearview mirror.

Here are a few more identities I've left behind, which I used to throw over my shoulders and wear proudly.

A from-scratch baker

I was “holier than thou” about it, too, disdainful of those who used mixes. I was too good, too talented to resort to shortcuts. Well indoctrinated from an early age by my mother, who considered baking mixes to be inventions of the devil.

However, I did lower my standards. Maybe I had let my supply of Unbleached King Arthur Flour get too low, or maybe I was in a rush. But I used a Betty Crocker mix for some cookies.

The first time I did, I expected my mother, who had passed away a few years before, to come down and smote me, but nothing happened. And dammit they were good, delicious in fact. And so much easier than all that pesky mixing and measuring. Now I…