I've been broke quite a few times in my life. That first year after college was grueling as I worked several jobs at once to keep a roof over my head and the car on the road. It is far too expensive for single folks to live in this country! I sold aluminum cans for gas money and shared a bowl of mac-n-cheese with my Basset Hound for dinner more than once. I am not scared of sacrifice or hard work. I have a good job and while it doesn't pay very well, it does pay for all the needs and some of the wants. Until this spring, I had a couple of little side jobs doing grant writing and tutoring and that income was the fun money that got us to the movies or the semi-annual haircut. Without that extra little bit coming in and combined with the current state of economic recession I have been strapped like I haven't experienced since I got my teaching job. A couple of weeks ago I cleaned a friend's kitchen to get groceries for school lunches. So Christmas for my kids looked bleak to the point that I was about to call it off. And then I made some toast.
I began making jelly, jam and apple butter last fall. I always buy fresh strawberries from a local youth group and freeze them for shortcake topping and fruit smoothies. But last year I made my first batch of strawberry jam and was so impressed that I tried other things. Throughout the year I have made lots of preserves like mixed fruit jellies, apple butter, salsa and now marmalade. Just for fun, I entered a few jars in the home agriculture show at the fair and was surprised to have won three first-place ribbons!
For the past year I have been giving my jars of tasty treats to friends and family just because I can (pun intended.) I love to share and admit that it feels great to be complimented on my culinary skills. Everything about the jamming process makes me happy, from washing and slicing fresh apples to the ruby red glow of strawberries poured into a hot jar. And the way my house smells when I make apple butter makes it feel like fall all year. It is a creative outlet that is literally a feast for all the senses.
As I sat there last Monday morning, staring glumly at my toast, I opened a fresh jar of my own apple butter. It has always been one of my favorites, a comfort food you might call it. I spread it around, admiring its consistency and noting that I had gotten the right balance of spices and brown sugar. It was pretty, too. Why, it was actually better than what I used to buy at the supermarket. Someone should buy it from me. No, really....someone should buy it from me! And right there in my kitchen at that moment my hobby turned into a small business. I was in a jam and had plenty of it to sell, too. "Miss B's In a Jam" debuted on FaceBook that night and the next day I had orders.
Being broke serves as a catalyst for change for me because it is the one thing that truly sends me into a depression. I feel absolutely worthless in every way when I don't have money. I can't sleep, my blood pressure goes up and I yell more than usual. And this time it happened right before the holidays. Something had to give. My kids hear "no, we can't afford that" all year long so I like to surprise them with something good at Christmas. I know that material things are not the point of Christmas, but it is tradition and Lord knows I am all about that. My kids will have something good from Santa and I had to figure out a way to make it happen.
As I sit here today there are 14 orders waiting to be filled by Monday. I will be cooking every night this week to fill them and get ahead for orders yet to come in. I have a wonderful support system that never fails to jump in and help when I call. My friends have helped to market "Miss B's In a Jam," find places to sell it and design and produce its packaging and my mom is the best juicer ever. I think this little business will be around for a while and I am so glad of it. Once again, God has allowed me to survive yet another season. I wonder what I will preserve from it.
I just think you're much more wonderful than even you can imagine. Truly.
ReplyDelete