I know what you’re thinking… you might be thinking the art of slow cooking? Do you mean cooking in a slow cooker?? NO, that’s not exactly what I mean. What I mean is exactly that just cooking slowly. The other question might be asking you is why did you choose to write about this topic? Well some may know or not know, but a few weeks ago I had surgery on my rught wrist. I’ve been dealing with carpal tunnel issues for quite a few years and it got to the point where my fingers would get numb whether I was sleeping, writing or even when I was cooking. With that numbness came some intense pain which would wake me up in the middle of the night or have me shaking my hand every 30 seconds when I was chopping anything or my writing and typing. It started to become a bit difficult to deal with so, my doctor and I decided that surgery was probably the best option.
So it happened… it was my right hand and I didn’t think that the recovery or the time for recovery would actually be what it has been. (3 weeks so far, 3 more to go before I can start to move my wrist)
Thankfully for most of my recovery I have has my husband around who can help me with different tasks around the house but at one point, he had to go on a trip and this is where I really discovered the art of having not only patience with myself, but also having a bit of a deeper understanding of others who may have an even greater physical challenge in their daily lives. I also discovered the art of slow cooking.
Again, not cooking in the slow cooker but literally taking my time to create certain dishes. I didn’t try to make anything overly elaborate because I was still in the first splint that they put me in right after surgery, where I could only move my fingertips. So I made simple things like soup and sandwiches, I bought already sliced thin pieces of beef that I could cook up easily with some peppers, I even discovered that cracking an egg with one hand is it just a fancy technique for chefs, more like a necessary talent!
I took the time to really focus on the dish that I was making instead of having three different things going at once, like chopping different items, sauteing, and trying to clean up all of the same time. Now I’m not saying that that can’t be done, because that’s usually how I function but I was able to just enjoy the art of cooking. I won’t say it wasn’t challenging to do mostly everything with one hand, particularly my less dominant hand, but I knew that I needed to do what I could and push forward. I could have easily ordered take out food and gone with quick frozen foods but aside from opening a container of soup I wanted to be able to make healthier options but also push myself through a challenging moment.
Sometimes in life we aren’t always going to be able to function at our full capacity, but it is those moments when adversity, challenges, disappointments, and moments where you just aren’t sure if you can keep going that’s we can take the time to step up to the plate and really prove to ourselves that we can do almost anything if we put our best foot forward.
So as I continue to recover and wait for the moment where I can use my right hand to its full functionality again and not wear a brace 24/7, I will look for ways to not only be in the moment but to also dig deep inside of myself to find the motivation to push myself forward. This is something that we should all try whether we are forced to while recovering from am injury or just wanting to give ourselves grace in our daily lives.