It takes a special person to parallel their life to a pan of brownies. I'm that kind of special.
This afternoon I was attacked by a particularly demanding chocolate craving and decided to bake myself some brownies. Er, more truthfully I decided to mix up some brownie batter and dip my finger into it a few [dozen] times until the craving was satisfied, then bake the remainder. I suspect that I may have needed a serotonin surge after the emotional roller coaster that was The Secret Life of Bees* this afternoon. In any case, I'm always torn when it comes to baking things. I live alone, and really don't need an entire pan of brownies (tray of cookies, loaf of sweet bread, etc.) sitting on my counter - mostly because I have absolutely no self control. Anyhow, I managed to miss the timer and burned them beyond the point of salvage. As sad as it is, I inadvertently spared myself the guilt associated with an empty 9 X 13 pan, soiled spatula and scattered chocolate crumbs. All in all, I think that the situation worked out for the best. The chocolate demon had been silenced without leaving me victim to a weak resolve in the face of temptation for the next 3 days. (and that's probably a high estimate)
I suppose the point of sharing the story was that it made me think how often things in life seem to work out for the best, even if the outcome isn't something I had planned on. Come to think of it, the best ones never are what I expected. Obviously you can never be sure how alternative endings may have played out, but when the ending I wind up with fits under the 'happy' category I see no point in second guessing it. Without getting into too much detail, I'm happy to share that it seems I'm able to dust off my happy category and fill it with a few more items from my personal life than I have in a long, long while...and that makes me more cheerful than a bowl of brownie batter ever could.
*I loved Loved LOVED this movie. I almost opted out of it because I typically (with the exception of Chicago) dislike Queen Latifah films - but it was really great!
