Rhubarb, By Any Other Name, Would Taste As Good

I have some very obvious weaknesses. One of them is rhubarb crumb pie. My parents have a large patch of rhubarb in their yard and my mom makes delectable pies that she graciously shares with me. Once that pie crosses the threshold of my home I eat nothing else until it is gone. That’s not entirely true: I generally eat dinner since I have to cook for my husband because he can eat something other than rhubarb pie if it is available. But since I partake of the pie for breakfast, lunch, and all snacks throughout the day it doesn’t generally last for more than three days.

Earlier this week I attempted my first Sudoku puzzle. There is, in my personality, a very stubborn streak of determination. In certain situations I am sure that this would be looked upon as an asset. When it comes to certain puzzles of logic, however, it is very much to my detriment. The children could be screaming and the house falling apart around me and I wouldn’t even notice if absorbed in one of these puzzles. I have to figure it out; I will figure it out! Only, some of them are extremely challenging and can take days at a time to solve.

Another area where I struggle to control myself is literature. If I’m in the midst of a good book it can be physically painful to pull myself away from it. I’m not exaggerating. I lose sleep because the possibility of reading without interruption after the kids have gone to bed is too tempting to pass up; on these days housework really disgusts me as I have yet to figure out how to wash the dishes or clean the bathroom while at the same time holding a book and turning its pages.

It is possible that I have exaggerated a smidge in the preceding paragraphs. I can force myself to put aside Jane Eyre to take care of my children; I just get a little cranky sometimes. There was even one day this week that I gave up entirely on a puzzle because I knew I would be mad at myself if I allowed it to consume my entire day. In one of these instances, at least, I was entirely honest. If there is a rhubarb pie in the house I will devour it. I have been known to eat a whole pie in one day. I do believe that even now, God is filling my pantry in heaven with lots and lots of rhubarb pies: rhubarb and strawberry, rhubarb and apple, rhubarb and blueberry…