What the culinary arts have taught me

The solid work that goes into preparing a meal
What was taken for granted all these years,
The reality of creating every morsel
Every effort to build meals from scratch

The planning and deliberations
The grocery shopping, the lists,
The visits to the market, locating exotic ingredients
Finding a new variant or product to try

The time it takes, the patience it takes
The hard work at play behind the scenes,
To bring the aroma and flavors
Of everyone’s favorite foods

The culinary arts bring a strange sanity
Along with the madness,
It teaches me to value the importance of
Dedication, hard work and patience

It makes me like a child again
Exploring a new arena with my eyes wide open,
Trying to gain knowledge and experience
As the days roll by

It brings a sense of appreciation
And thanksgiving,
For every home cooked meal
Our moms toiled over since we were little

It brings the best from us
The smiles and laughter after a hearty meal,
The warmth of the glowing faces
And the grins from our kids

That’s what makes a house, a home right?