Life is an adventure of the heart, an adventure into love

Sunday 23 January 2011

How Marmalade got the better of me...

It's January, and to some people that means that it's marmalade making season! All true marmalade lovers know that you can't beat Seville oranges for flavour, and so in January when they are in season, it's time to head down to the shops and buy your oranges. Oranges bought and in bags, you head home to stir sweet, citrus pots, bubbling with amber goodness. Once made, you pour the bitter- sweet, sticky mixture into your recycled jars, feeling slightly smug and virtuous that your family will at least have some good quality marmalade on their toast this year!

Only, I had a problem this year... I didn't really feel like making marmalade!

The trouble is, that I made it anyway (I just couldn't miss out on Seville season), oh but I suffered for it afterwards. Someone did tell me that you can freeze the oranges, which I wish I'd done in retrospect, but I wasn't sure whether you were supposed to peel them first- would they go mushy and be difficult to peel after being frozen? All this proved too much for my pregnant brain!

And that, my friends is how marmalade got the better of me. I stood there, peeling oranges and slicing up the skin, squeezing out the juice until my hands stung, with aching limbs and deep sighs. How silly of me! What's the point of doing anything unless it's fun? My family can live without marmalade, and they'd also rather live without me after I put the marmalade on a pedestal as more important than myself and ended up in tears! The stupid marmalade didn't even taste right afterwards, my husband thinks this is because I added too much sugar, which is strange because it has been delicious every other year.

Moral of the story: YOU are more important than any 'stuff' that you think needs to be done. If you really think about it, what is more important- would you rather have a pile of rotting oranges and a happy heart or be in the most foul mood and 10 jars of marmalade that's too sweet anyway? I know what I'll choose next time!

Sometimes we just need to give ourselves a break- we need to listen to the whispers of our hearts (however quiet they have become) and when we hear them, we need to listen, because that is where love begins. Love begins with you and then it can flow out to those around you.

Just don't make the marmalade unless you want to!

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