Mental Health Monday: Chanukkah Gratitude Edition

Happy Monday, friends and neighbors. And a Chappy Chanukkah to those celebrating it. It’s certainly been a while since I’ve done one of these MHM posts, but it seemed like a good time, so here we are.

It’s been a difficult year for everyone. I know that seems like an understatement, but it’s true. I’ve had my own challenges, for sure. Being laid off, various issues with my physical and mental health and worries about the well-being of my friends and family. Liz and I were supposed to get married in the summer and we had to postpone. I know many people had it way worse than us, but that doesn’t mean it was easy.

When life goes so completely pear-shaped, it’s normal to get bitter, to go dark. But as cheesy as it sounds, having an attitude of gratitude can really be a helpful tool in coping. Just as we all have problems and challenges, we all have things to be grateful for, no matter how small.

What got me thinking this way was a weekend delivery of Chanukkah latkes from my parents. They spent the weekend grating potatoes and onions, forming the latkes, giving them an initial fry, then freezing them in bags to be transported to their hungry offspring. It was a welcome surprise to have my masked-up parents making doorstep deliveries amidst the pandemic blues. I hadn’t seen them in months.

We were able to chat for a bit, then they were on their way. The next day, I heated up a fair amount of oil in a stainless-steel sauté pan and re-fried a half dozen latkes for Liz and I to enjoy. A sprinkling of salt as they drained on paper towels was all they needed to be perfect. The flavour, aroma and texture brought me right back to Chanukkah dinners spent with family in my youth.

This post isn’t about making latkes. To be honest, I don’t have my family’s recipe. It was my Bubbie’s, probably her Bubbie’s before hers. I don’t want the recipe yet. I don’t need to know the “secret ingredients”, and even if I did, certain recipes SHOULD stay in the family. Sorry readers, but it’s true. Fact is, no matter what tweaks I could or would make, no matter how closely I followed that recipe, those latkes would never taste as good as when they were made by my Bubbie or my parents.

I’m grateful to have parents who took the time to cook latkes and bring them over for us to enjoy. And that got me thinking about all the other things I’m grateful for, despite what a shit-tornado this year has been. I’m grateful for my health, both physical and mental, and the aid I’ve received in improving both. I am happy I got to slow down a bit and spend lots of time with Liz. I’m grateful for our warm little home, and our menagerie of animals within it. I’ve loved cooking lots of delicious food and sharing it with so many of you. I’m grateful I started this blog, and got stories published about restaurants I cherish and believe in. I’m thankful that I’ve gotten the chance to start repairing my relationship with my brother.

If things hadn’t ground to a halt, I don’t know that I would have been able to take the time to appreciate any of those things the way I now do. I’m not happy about the pandemic, it’s been a worldwide tragedy. I know my personal experience has been very different than many people, and I acknowledge my privilege in that. But I’m grateful for what I have and what I’ve discovered.

I know it might sound like Pollyanna bullshit, but take a minute and think about the things that you’re grateful for. Something in your life that’ll make you smile. You can do it, and you’ll be better off for the mental exercise, I promise you. One moment of gratitude will double into two and so on.

What are you grateful for this year, readers? Were you able to take stock? Let me know in the comments below or shoot me an email and I’ll see you all real soon!