Nostalgia and the Power of the Mouth

I’m a grape jelly girl. I once ate buttered toast with grape jelly every day, multiple times a day, for a very long time. Man, nothing beats a good piece of jelly toast.

My Dad is a peanut butter and butter kind of man. Sometimes he’ll do peanut butter and honey if he’s feeling fancy.

Growing up, my Mom only bought grape jelly. So that’s the only type of jelly I had for YEARS. I probably didn’t even realize they made other flavors of jelly. Hence, I would just call it “jelly”.

One of the summers I spent in Poland, I distinctly remember what we ate for every breakfast. It was a large meal of deli meats, cereals, pastries, toast and…. strawberry jelly. There was only strawberry jelly in, what felt like, all the land!

It blew my mind. The whole summer I felt like I was unfaithful to my grape jelly. I ate a LOT of strawberry jelly. I still 100% prefer grape jelly to this day. However, the reason I tell you this backstory is because my husband and I bought STRAWBERRY JELLY for the first time in our marriage (my first time in all of my life).

So this morning I had strawberry jelly on buttered toast. ANd you know what happened? It brought me right back to that summer spent overseas. Isn’t it funny how certain tastes can do that for you?

Even smells and sounds! Every time I hear Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl”, I am immediately transported back to 1996, to our old house, hanging out in the garage, listening to Cool 94.5, and “helping” Dad with chores.

Sweet nostalgia, it is powerful.

The ability for a single song, smell, or picture to bring someone back to a time gone past, is visceral. You feel it in your gut.

When I see this picture, I feel it in my gut. This is the last birthday card my Grandmother gave to me before she died of lung cancer. This was a formative time for me, and ultimately led to me accepting and fully trusting in Jesus. When I see this card, it invokes a lot of feelings but mostly I feel deep gratitude for the memories and time I did have with her.

Sometimes, people can have negative experiences with nostalgia. Sometimes people can become quickly triggered from a single experience, song, smell, word, or person. In the same way that nostalgia can deeply affect us in a positive manner, it can also affect us negatively.

And often times, it is misunderstood.

You may have experienced someone storming out of a room, or watching their anger go through the roof. More likely, you’ve watched someone shut down and withdraw emotionally in a conversation that appeared to be harmless.  All with seemingly unknowable causes. In both cases, it started with a trigger. A trigger, by definition in terms of weaponry, is “a small device that releases a spring or catch and so sets off a mechanism, especially in order to fire a gun” (google, obviously). 

Key word, small. Some of the most traumatic experiences that stick with people can be triggered by something incredibly small. Most likely unnoticeable to others.

I bring all of this up to encourage you. Start to become aware of yourself and be sensitive to others. When someone flies off the handle, pause and give them a second chance. Be gracious and give time to the interaction to see if it will calm down. Rather than matching their intensity, reduce the heat on your own emotional temperature, and see if it doesn’t take a better turn.

When YOU fly off the handle, pay attention to the feelings and thoughts that bounce around in your head. Pay attention to the situations that cause you to become angry, frustrated, or make you feel out of control. Backtrack to the moments prior and see if you notice anything.

And with others, be gracious. Give extra kindness and patience to EVERYONE. If I’ve learned anything in the social work realm, it’s that you never know someone’s story by simply looking at them. Everyone has stuff they’re trying to make sense of the best they can. Be gracious.

Proverb 15:28, “The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.”

God is showing me that my words carry great power. My words have the ability to lift someones spirits and also crush someones heart. I am actively working to pay attention to how quickly I speak and I am writing this as much to myself as I am to you, sweet reader. Let us ponder the power of our mouth and consider how we can be light and truth to those we encounter.

Cheers

 

The Granola Series: DIY Cold Brew

Confession: Nothing creative comes to fruition in my life unless coffee initiates it.

Well, maybe that’s a bit dramatic. But for all intents and purposes, it appears to be true. Each time I’ve crafted something cool or written on the blog, I’ve started with a cup of iced coffee beforehand. Therefore, I have hypothesized that in order to be creative, one must first have coffee. So it logically makes sense for me to eventually share with you my recipe for DIY Cold Brew Coffee.

If I am going to share my secret recipe with you, I must first confess something else. You should know I am NOT a former barista, I don’t know all “the things” about coffee processes, or even how to make the fancy girly leaf formation in the foam. I can’t even drink it black. Like, seriously, ew.

My appreciation for coffee is simple: it keeps me regular and it gives me creative energy.

I’m also cheap and like doing stuff on my own. So when a dear friend showed me I could make SMOOTH, non bitter tasting coffee, I was sold.

So if you’d like to give it a whirl, here it is..

The Super Secret Super Easy DIY Cold Brew Recipe 

Items you’ll need:

• 1 pound of course ground coffee (I usually go to the bulk food section and grind up 1 pound at the store – it’s usually $5-$8. This time I was at Trader Joe’s and just bought some that was ready to go!)
• 1-2 nut milk bags (amazon $12 or less)
• 1 large bowl with a lid
• 1 gallon of water 
• Glass containers with a seal of some sort (found these at Target probably)

~Instructions~

1. Pour coffee grounds into milk nut bags (I only used one larger bag) and tie off the top. Set in a large bowl.

2. Pour a gallon of water over the grounds in the bowl. (“To Grandmother’s house we go!”)

3. Cover the bowl with the lid and allow to sit for 12 HOURS. 

The coffee needs its quiet time. 

4. At the 12 hour mark, uncover the soaking coffee and whisper…

Then, gently squeeze the bags of coffee grounds. Do this only a couple of times and then put the lid back on the bowl. Let sit for ONE MORE HOUR.

 ***This is important because there will be an accumulation of sludge at the bottom of the bowl that NEEDS to settle. 

6. Lastly, slowly pour out the coffee into your glass containers. Stop pouring once you see the sludge. 

That’s all folks.

Ground and drown some beans, squeeze some bags.

Pour over ice, add some milk (or mix in a protein shake) and enjoy!

Warning: it is CONCENTRATED and is quite strong!!! My go-to ratio is half coffee with half milk/protein shake. 

And if you read this far and don’t care to try this on your own, no harm no foul. Nothing wrong with K-cups, Dutch Bros, and the Bucks. Get your joe and handle your day.

Cheers!