“It’s getting hot in here.” – Nelly

{Story time} Now this is a story all about how my life almost burnt to the ground. Seriously, I literally set my kitchen on fire… Not just once, not twice, and now that I think about it it’s been too many times to remember. Oops. It probably didn’t help that I had a rather dated(yet charming) kitchen with appliances that practically created appliances, but alas, I cannot cast all the blame on the dinosaurs. Any-who, Once upon a time I cooked dinner for my friend and things got pretty heated…

Earlier that day while running errands, I saw some oven mitts and thought to myself, “hmm I haven’t burnt any pasta lately”, so obviously ya girl deserved some mitts.💁🏻 I got home and quickly began putting everything away where it belonged (my mom’s reading this and I’m trying to make her proud, y’all. Realistically, everything probably sat on my kitchen table for 3 hours and chances are I remembered I got ice cream or some other type of perishable item and then the urgency kicked in…) Later that evening I started preheating the oven as I began preparing the rest of the dish (cooking for dummies). Honestly couldn’t tell you what I was making if that’s any indication as to how great and unforgettable the actual food was.😉 My friend got there, we were talking as I was cooking and all of a sudden we smelled something burning. It was coming from the oven and I remember thinking, “oh brother, now I’m burning things before they even go in?!?” So I opened the oven and initially didn’t see anything- then noticed smoke coming through the hinges from what looked like underneath?? I quickly opened the drawer below the oven; Low and behold, flames were ablazin’! This clearly shows how much I knew about kitchens/cooking… The “drawer” I so happily (and hastily😉) put my brand new and adorable oven mitts away in earlier was the BROILER!!!  By this point the smoke detector was going off- loud and proud, but in that moment all I could do was laugh, so I did. Mind you my friend is there watching this fiasco go up in flames, so that was groovy. As I jumped to action and started filling anything within reach able to hold water in (weak) efforts to set out the fire, I just kept laughing. Partially at the situation, but mainly at myself and my excitement to cook yet lack of ability; Not to mention the fact that I had been a proud owner of oven mitts for a solid 6 hours before cremating them. Thankfully my friend did not find it as humorous as I did and jumped in to help so I (still laughing, probably coming off as a psycho pyro at this point) walked around opening doors and windows. I was right to have faith in my friend, he tamed the beast and trouble was averted.

The phrase we’ve all heard a million times, “laughter is the best medicine”, could not be more true. If you know me or have ever talked to me, you have undoubtedly heard me say, “it’s just funny”. If you don’t know me, I say that phrase- a lot. For example, when I’m talking about something sad or unfortunate that happened or is currently happening and someone goes, “oh, I’m so sorry”, I usually respond with, “I’m good, it’s just funny”, followed by the lesson I took from it or how I’m going to approach it. Obviously it would not be sustainable to disregard, suppress, neglect, “laugh-off”, every feeling connected to some type of distress, trauma or undesired occurrence. Literally speaking from experience because I did that for a majority of my life and here I am paying the mental/emotional price for it. Whoops. Often times it’s hard to make a sound, logical decision in a frantic state of mind. So before you go Britney Spears circa 2007, step back, take a deep breath (or 20), acknowledge the situation for what it is, maybe do some yoga, pray on it if you’re into that and/or lack flexibility so you can make a logical assessment of whatever the situation may be and start fixing/dealing with it. Remember, you can’t control/repair everything which I know is easier said than done because I tried… and failed. **IMPORTANT: Obviously if you’re dealing with someone that’s losing an excessive about of blood, stay calm and keep breathing, but don’t step back and assess how long it takes them to pass out from said blood loss. I believe in you and your common sense.** Is laughing while a fire could potentially burn your apartment/building down the best way to handle it? Probably not. Did/does laughing initially keep me sane in a lot of situations before analyzing, rationalizing, fixing or forgiving? Yes! I’m very grateful my mantra “it’s just funny” works so well for me despite frequently ill-timed yet beneficial laughter. Hopefully you’re able to find humor in most situations, and if you’re not into my personal helper, that’s totally fine! Maybe you can be like Daughtry and pursue a life full of laughter or remember Ecclesiastes 3:4. But if neither of those work for you, Trader Joe’s sells bottles of wine for $2. You’re welcome.

*Regarding control*- Letting Jesus take the wheel and feeling like I’m ‘losing’ control is one of my biggest weaknesses, but through Him- one of my biggest strengths. Learning to put my trust in the Lord is the best thing I have ever done (aside from teaching myself how to cook to avoid anymore fires😂). Positive: I’m addressing/tackling my demons head on. Yes, it is thunderbolts of lightning, very, VERY frightening, but it’s so fun being able to acknowledge growth in yourself. And again, my boy Jesus is always with me – he says, “hola”. BUT all of that is a topic for a different post…

Today, I can confidently say I have a pair of oven mitts that I have yet to set ablaze. Nor have I even started a fire; it’s amazing what kitchen appliances that aren’t nearing their 75th birthday can do… I’m happy I taught myself how to cook, and by cook I mean follow directions. That’s my main complaint about following a recipe- not knowing why I’m doing something or being told to dirty 9 dishes to make one meal… I like knowing “why” for pretty much everything in life though, so I can’t bash cooking for that. Following directions is not one of my strong suits i.e. I tell my GPS to stop telling me what to do all the time. Emphasis on the whole ‘working on letting go of control thing’. Yikes. In my opinion, cooking can also help you practice timing/prioritizing ooooor maybe I’m just trying to justify the fact that I have to wait 9 years to safely eat chicken.. It’s fine though, it’s just funny. 

Choose your friends wisely, you never know when you’re going to set oven mitts on fire. Shoutout to G – You’re great for saving us, Simon(my cat), along with my apartment. My security deposit and I thank you.

Be blessed.

-HCP🌵

 

* Ecclesiastes 3:4 (NIV) 4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.

* I understand everyone handles emergencies differently. I’m ‘in my zone’ and at total peace in the height of an emergency. Keeping calm and taking deep breaths seems to aid rational thoughts- a VERY helpful thing when dealing with an urgent situation.

* If you ever have a house fire and need to call 911make sure you try not to laugh ON the phone with the dispatcher. They may be under the impression that something else is going on and you probably don’t want that.

* If what you’re able to find humor in is or could be considered insensitive to other people involved, please use proper discretion and don’t announce it aloud. Wait until you’re in the privacy of your own home or car to laugh.