Momma's Kitchen

If you took a single dance lesson in your youth there is no way you escaped the melodic piano of Debussy's Clair de Lune.

I grew up dancing. Raised by a southern mother who insisted all little girls learn an instrument and take ballet. I am a people pleaser, I have been from the start, so off to dance class I went.

The warm-ups are always the same. You stand tall, elongate your body, try not to pick your wedgie in front of the instructor and plié to Clair de Lune.

Unbeknownst to me at the time, I would grow to love this song, to find comfort in the way it almost makes my soul feel sad. I would come to learn that the entire point of the musical composition is to do just that. To make you reflect on your soul. Clair de Lune was based on a poem by French poet Paul Verlaine whose poem starts with the line: Your soul is a chosen

landscape.

Let's look at that again: Your soul is a CHOSEN landscape.

That beginning line has a lifetime of lessons encapsulated within it. Our soul is something that we shape, that we forge, that we determine. We choose who gets to affect that landscape. Which positive or negative forces bend it into the shape in which it will reside. That is why it is so important that we carefully choose who we let near our hearts and who we invite to share space with our souls.

My mother had this saying, which I believe a lot of mothers have: You are the company you keep. So as I begin my day here in the kitchen I will remember her words. I will keep the company that makes me feel good. That helps me build a landscape of peace and who will help me tend it rather than lay waste. I will caution my sweet boy to do the same. I will continue this legacy. And so in this Mama's Kitchen, just like the one I was raised in, I will be serving up much more than breakfast.

Candle details below

This morning's reel featured my latest favorite scent by Antique Candle Co, called Momma's Kitchen. Find it linked here and use the code JULIACURATED20 for 20% off!