Day Twenty One — Drive
“Do you have a moment to go over the menu?” Lily asked sister Jesse, who had just arrived in the kitchen and was checking the daily prep schedule.
“Sure. Go ahead,” sister Jesse replied, her eyes still glued to the list of items.
“Are we still going to have the cream puffs?” Lily asked.
“I was planning on that, yes,” sister Jesse confirmed.
“We’re not going to have a problem with the chocolate syrup?”
“We’re going to use serving tongues and they will be topped with ice cream, in bowls.”
“How are we going to keep the ice cream from melting?” Lily asked, worried.
“Really?” sister Jesse commented. Lily went on.
“I thought it was going to be finger foods only.”
“You can’t make a five course meal out of finger foods!” sister Jesse protested, her culinary sensibility offended. “I thought you wanted me to cook!”
“Of course,” Lily flashed a pleasant smile to appease her. “Did you remember to make the pear and red wine glazed tart? It’s Seth’s favorite.”
“Yes, together with the rhubarb ice cream for Jimmy, the red snapper and fennel for sister Joseph and the chamomile and lemon glazed mini pound cakes for Lelia. You already told me,” sister Jesse confirmed.
“No crèpes Susette?” Lily suggested sweetly. “Without the flambé?”
“That is always a possibility,” sister Jesse said.
“Are we going to have enough room for the spread? How many tables do we have planned?” Lily continued.
“Eighty or ninety should be plenty.”
“For five hundred guests?” Lily fretted.
“Ninety it is.”
“What is on the menu?” Lily asked.
“Pork rillettes, double baked cheese soufflee, porcini mushroom tartlets, roasted chicken with herbs, truffle infused soup, blackberry custards, lapin à la royale,” sister Jesse started enumerating, more and more pleased.
“This is so fancy! I thought we’re going to stick to something simple, you know? Why do we have to prepare dishes that are so elaborate?” Lily asked, worried.
“Where you saving those for a special occasion?”
“Well, as long as there is nothing that needs to come to the table in flames,” Lily conceded.
“I think I’m a good enough cook not to set myself on fire!” sister Jesse protested, offended.
“I beg you, sister! I can’t have another argument with the wisps, I’ll go mad!”
“Great! There go the baked Alaskas!” sister Jesse thought, bitterly scratching the item off the list.
“Fortunately the Second Circle has no opinions on foods, given they don’t eat,” Lily breathed a sigh of relief, “as long as nothing poses a safety concern.”
“Maybe I should get rid of the Brazilian steaks then,” sister Jesse joked.
“Please? For me?” Lily smiled the most persuasive smile she could muster.
“We’re two coordination meetings away from drinking out of sippy cups. Are you sure you don’t want me to puree the food? You know, for safety?” sister Jesse asked.
“What other items do you have? Let me see the list, I’ll pick them out,” Lily made an attempt to reach for the precious menu.
“Not on your life!” sister Jesse safeguarded it, moving a foot away from Lily. “Next?” she asked.
“Speaking of implements, do we really need stemware?”
“You want to drink champagne out of tin cups?”
“Does it matter what we drink out of?” Lily tried to suggest. “Glass breaks,” she pointed out.
“Yes, it does!” sister Jesse started to get irritated.
“Never mind, then,” Lily moved on. “How about the cookie displays? Do we really have to have a cookie waterfall?”
“Stay away from those cookie displays, God help you!” sister Roberta pounced on the objection like a tiger.
“If we can have the cookie displays, why can’t we have a chocolate fountain? The kids love it!” sister Jesse noticed how the terms of the negotiation had changed.
“Is it scolding hot?” Lily tried to argue.
“Not if you know what you’re doing,” sister Jesse retorted. “It won’t take a lot of space, unlike that useless drapery.”
Lily gave into the request, just to move on to the next item on her list.
“I just wanted to go over this one more time,” she pulled an endless sheet of culinary preferences and objections that she had gathered from the entire guest list. Sister Jesse took the list, glanced over it and gave it back.
“We already talked about all of these,” she said. “Goodness, general Lily here must think I have the short term memory of a goldfish!” she thought, irritated.
“I apologize, sister! I just want everything to go perfectly. The ceremony is in three days,” Lily justified herself.
“Stop stressing, if something is not going to go as planned, it is not because you didn’t anticipate it,” sister Jesse tried to calm her nerves, managing to achieve the very opposite. Lily looked terrified.
“What do you mean something is not going to go as planned? We absolutely can’t have that!” she panicked instantly.
“Sister, please don’t set her off, we’re trying to get her through the ceremony with her sanity intact, whatever that means,” sister Roberta argued through the interlink.
“Everything will be perfect,” sister Jesse reassured Lily, trying to suppress a smile. “Exactly as planned,” she doubled down on the message, to make sure it sunk in. “Even more so after I finish training the cooks for the knife juggling show,” she said, trying very hard not to laugh at the horrified look on Lily’s face. “I’m joking! Relax! You know, you should take a break, for all our sakes, you’re driving everybody nuts!”
“Not as long as sister Roberta is still working on her sound and light surprise,” Lily said, as she exited of the room.
Landing Bay, Terra Two, July 23rd, 3245
Dear,
I feel kind of awkward about the life lessons, goodness knows there is no shortage of advice givers in life, and I for one was never fond of contemplating their suggestions, however well intentioned. But since this is what everybody else is doing, I’ll throw in my two cents, with the request to take the advice at face value, as an experience that was mine and may not have any bearing on your life.
I don’t believe in destiny, Lelia, nor do I believe in exceptional circumstances, obstacles impossible to overcome, or other people’s power over my life. That is not to say that life is easy: some fights you don’t win, but you have to fight them anyway, because this is the guiding principle for all those who have the audacity to chart their own future.
The farther you get in achieving your goals, the harder you’ll have to fight for them. The harder you fight, the stronger you get. The stronger you get, the more you feel responsible to protect those who aren’t as strong as you are, yet.
You are presented with one chance to play this game of life, there is no point in waiting it out, what do you think is going to happen later that will present you with a better backdrop for your dreams? In my long existence I can’t think of a single circumstance when waiting made a difference for the better.
If your dream is worthwhile, you will encounter resistance. Why is that? You’ll have to ask somebody who is more given to philosophical debates, I learn from experience and shape my path according to the things I learn, I don’t spend any time fighting human nature and its truths. If you don’t encounter resistance it is likely that your goal is not bold enough and if that is the case, don’t settle for it, your life is worth living to the fullest.
The most common reaction people have when they meet resistance is to back away and search for another path, usually one less contentious, one that doesn’t stretch their capacity or comfort zone. This other path usually leads nowhere through an ever lessening sequence of diminishing resistance. It eventually gets you to a point of indifferent value where you will be comfortable enough to push through an almost nonexistent hurdle. This is what people mean by the path of low resistance, and it is one road you should never find yourself traveling.
What you should do when you encounter resistance is realize you’re unto something that has real value, something worth fighting for. What you should do is push through the challenge and work your way up to goals that require more effort, not less. This is the only way to grow, the only way to achieve your potential. Through consistent effort you find your strength, your gifts, your worth and your confidence.
Speaking of confidence, some say it is something you are born with, but that’s not entirely true. Confidence is the wage of the effort you put in and the summation of all the struggles you already overcame.
What you do will come back to you; be determined, but also be kind. Don’t confuse niceness with kindness, a lot of misery has been doled out on humankind under the guise of nicety, it is the most loathsome form of deceit. Let actions speak for themselves, and know that words mean nothing if they’re not supported by actions.
Be willing to listen to the truth, especially when you don’t like it, and respect the people who have the strength of character to bring it to you, but if you second guess yourself every time somebody gives you an opposing view you’ll lose all focus and find yourself floating aimlessly in the big sea of human thought, randomly dragged by countless currents of opinion that don’t resonate with you.
When everyone praises you, don’t get lost to hubris, when everybody criticizes you, don’t get lost to insignificance; know that you’ll encounter both situations in your life and your purpose shouldn’t be swayed by either.
Don’t waste time worrying about mistakes you made way back when. You bore the consequences and learned from them, don’t revisit. If you keep belly aching over past mistakes you’re going to lose focus on the challenges that are placed in your path in the present, challenges that are likely to be a lot more sophisticated and critical to your current development.
Whatever you think impossible to achieve, remember somebody already did it. If you think you lack a crucial ingredient for success, somebody succeeded without it. Somebody will always be younger, older, smarter, better looking, more educated, more talented, better positioned, richer, more energetic, more likable, faster, more authoritative, more visionary, or less encumbered than you. Live your dream anyway! What difference does it make if somebody already achieved what you’re working towards? You either want that something or you don’t, why should another person’s outcome with respect to a similar goal influence your desire to pursue it?
If you lead your life guided by success or failure, you’ll get back success or failure. If you lead your life guided by principles and values, you’ll get back purpose, worthy relationships and inner strength.
Don’t be a wuss, Cinderella, it’s your ball!
XO,
Sister Jesse
