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When I was a child in the wintry sorrow of a New Jersey winter, my mother stole a page from Alice in Wonderland to brighten my day. I must have been tired of the endless snow and ice, tired of sore throats, the smell of wet wool in the school cloak room.
Maybe I needed cheering because one night in the dead of February, perhaps after reading the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, she threw me an unbirthday party. We did not drink tea or play croquet, but we did celebrate nothing in particular, except, perhaps, me—a sad little girl in the depths of winter. I remember friends enveloped in candlelight, a cake and a round glass bowl circling a flirty goldfish. I’ve never forgotten that celebration, and I’ve never forgotten the beauty of celebrating the unexpected.
Sometimes, elbow-deep in the kitchen, I hear the music of unexpected celebration —laughter. I walk out to the front rooms to see friends pulled up around a table with a bottle of wine, their heads drawn together in conversation, then thrown back in staccato notes of laughter. They share plates of food. Maybe they open gifts. They linger.
In this increasingly political world, where food, its origins, its nutritional components, almost everything about it,
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raises questions and concerns, it seems sometimes easier not to eat than to decide what is safe to eat.
When the information seems to overload the issue and render decisions meaningless, I say, choose your food carefully, but once chosen, celebrate!
A traditional celebrant would find February a ripe month—Mardi Gras, Chinese New Year, Valentine’s Day, Susan B. Anthony’s Birthday, Black History Month, Sadie Hawkins Day—but one who believes in celebrating the unexpected would find more reason than the dates marked on the calendar for celebration.
Honor the discovery of contained fire by lighting candles and searing a sirloin tri-tip with your neighbor. Celebrate February 29th—the extra day in the year—with an excess of desserts and invite your children. If you must be traditional, bake a cherry pie for George Washington and invite some of your closest patriots.
Think how fortunate we are for the bounty in our stores and our gardens. Think how the world is brighter and warmer for food and laughter. Look for the key to the unexpected. Then set your table and celebrate!
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