I’ve taken a long break from this blog – five years to be specific. It’s like the book that I refuse to finish because I want the option of its ending sitting on my shelf. I like the anticipation of what’s to come, rather than knowing. That’s the beauty in the story, though. Finishing and moving on, finding the joy in another work of prose. Perhaps it’s my ADHD – likely it is. It can’t be my laziness, because the last five years have been anything but lazy.
That’s what brings me here today, crawling out of my hiatus, sharing where I’ve been and what’s to come.
I started this food blog in 2012 as an outlet to share college-friendly meals. My hobby turned into a passion, which led me to culinary school post-graduation, which then paved the path to where I am today, owning a restaurant. It’s been seven years since my business partner and I opened The Nook Cafe – which you can read about here.
After going through the trenches of starting a business, then navigating COVID, and the recovery years to follow, we feel like we can finally take a deep breath.
That deep breath is exactly what brings me here today. I recently dusted off my camera and brought it with us to a vacation in Scotland. Exploring all the beauty St Andrews, Glencoe, Oban, and Edinburgh had to offer was a pivoting experience. On our travels home from our trip, looking and editing through the photos of food and landscapes, I felt an overwhelming sense of creativity. In the past, that’s when I’d begin to develop recipes and outline a plan for a new blog post. This was different, though.
I opened up my notepad and began writing, and the story I was writing was not about food.
I started to write the story of the personal journey that Scott and I have been on for the last several years. Our gut-wrenching, heart-breaking, yet hopeful and somehow inspiring journey of infertility. While my story does not talk about recipes and my passion for cooking, I realized how food intertwines through it all.
Like the milkshake I Door Dashed while crying in bed after our first miscarriage. Or the steamed crabs we treated ourselves to in excitement before an embryo transfer. Or the cookbook my step-sister gave me to combat PCOS. Or the endless comforting meals I’d cook with a purpose of distraction (and hunger). Or, on the flipside, where I make chicken noodle soup for my friend who just had her second baby. Or enchiladas for a friend grieving the loss of a friend. Or a tray of cookies and sandwiches to a friend who suddenly lost his father.
And then I think about what I do for work. Our café is located in an outpatient children’s hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. The impact we have on a daily basis within the hospital and community is enough to have a blog on its own.
All of this to say, this blog is no different than the books sitting idle on my shelves. It’s here, waiting for my return, whether I’m ready or not. In this case, my return is to share Sway, our story that I began to write on the flight home from Scotland.
My story is not finished, in fact, I have no idea how my story will end. Most writers wouldn’t dare to publish before there’s an ending to the story or at least a plan. The anticipation of what’s to come, the fact that I do not know, is the beauty in this story.
[Read Part 1 of my story – Sway – here]
