TTK. Things.Take.Time

Dear denizens of patience, gather ‘round, for today’s hymn is an ode to the joy of slowness. It was my husband who once introduced me to the Grook that has since become gospel in my mind and household: TTT. Things. Take. Time. And oh, how they do - sometimes maddeningly, sometimes miraculously.

This year, I’ve been reminded of the quiet ecstasies only time can conjure. Slow mornings at my mother’s house, where she - brave like she has not been before - has been steadily mending after surgery, teaching me that healing is a tempo all its own. The slow (and yes, occasionally frustrating) coming together of my already-built-but-new-to-me home, where each corner has slowly begun to wear the imprint of us. Watching my daughter gently, haltingly, joyfully spread her wings in a new environment, proving that independence blooms in hiccups and triumphs alike.

And, of course, the timeless culinary joys of the unhurried: chickpeas peeled one by one like precious pearls for the silkiest hummus; bread dough fermenting overnight into an airy cathedral of crumb; a confit of garlic luxuriating in olive oil like it’s at a spa in Tuscany; tomatoes simmering with nothing but time and trust until they transcend themselves into pure alchemy.

Other delights of slowness? A plant finally producing a single bud after months of teenage sulking. Books read languidly, with no deadlines except the inevitable closing of one’s eyelids mid-chapter. Laundry dried in the sun until it smells like heaven itself.

So, when frustration threatens, repeat this: TTT. Things. Take. Time.

✨I witnessed the metamorphosis of humble tomatoes today - from their modest beginnings to their saucy, transcendent finale. The ruby elixir will be ready for multiple uses in the kitchen, including melted into the heart of the most decadent Simit grilled cheese. A slow triumph for the ages.