My First Honest-to-Goodness-Sans-Mother Pie

This evening, I baked my first real pie.

I was so proud that I took a picture.

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Pumpkin.  Mmm.  With whipped cream.

Simple, store-bought, truly only twenty minutes of my time, but still.

I’d baked my first real pie.

I’d baked pies before, but typically with my mother in the kitchen, during our one-of-many Christmas cookfests.  It was always comforting having my mother around. You see, I had a teensy fear of hot ovens.  And collapsing cakes.  And raw-no-matter-what-you-do brownies.  All typical fears, I’m sure.

But tonight, I’d decided to work against my fear of all these things, gosh-dern-it, to go out to the store and purchase my evaporated milk and eggs and what-not, and to bake my first honest-to-goodness sans mother pie.

My roommate was lovely to lend me spices and some crust.  I bought all the other needed magic.  I trembled, I must admit, as I mixed and measured and whipped and waited for the oven heat to commence.  And, opening the door, inching the pie into the fiery furnace, I trembled again, held my breath.  I might have whimpered.

Then – I was excited.  While it baked, I wandered in and out of the kitchen like a child before Christmas.  When the timer finally sounded, and I sat the pie on the counter, I couldn’t contain my glee.

I kept staring and staring.  And smelling and smelling.  I had made a pie.  A pie!  A glorious confection that would bring my roommate and I joy, for weeks to come.  Or – days.

But I realized, too, the deeper reason for my glee: I had tried something that ordinarily scared me.  I’d tried it.  And to top it all off, I’d done the thing well.

It was exhilarating.

This is my last official week of being 31, and I’ve decided that, during my 32nd year, I’m going to try a lot more things that scare me. Random things that I’m new at, or need improvement at.   (Is that even a proper phrase – “need improvement at”?)

To kick this off, on the night of my birthday, I’m going to go ice skating.  Honest to god ice skating.  I enjoy ice skating, but I’m not very good at it.  I usually avoid it, so it always feels new.

New.  Needs Improvement.  Ice skating under a Manhattan skyline with friends.

Exhilarating.

I’m gonna go have some more pie.

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