Many of the people I talk to are going through round two of stir-crazy from the ‘Rona. They got through the summer and fall by looking forward to the holidays with family. And unfortunately the ‘Rona made family gatherings tricky on several levels, especially if you have a big family.
My husband and I made the choice to have his family over for a Christmas dinner. There were nine of us. I made ten pounds of mashed potatoes along with a thirteen-pound turkey, an eleven-pound ham, gravy, cranberry compote, apple-cranberry cornbread dressing, and a chocolate rum coffee cake. It was way too much food. I could have fed our entire township.
I had to get creative with the leftovers. I love chicken pot pie but we can’t eat it since it is made with SO MUCH butter (we can’t eat dairy). I considered making my own pie crust, but that quickly went out the window. Pie crust is finicky, and I didn’t want to have to be exacting or focused while on vacation. I gave it a bit of thought and then remembered I had SIX pounds of left-over mashed potatoes. Jackpot! I ended up making what my husband called a “chicken-not-pie” casserole with a chicken pot pie-style filling and mashed potato topping. A smash up between chicken pot pie and shepherd’s pie. It was delicious.
I go into detail about this because sometimes we need to improvise, whether in the kitchen, the board room, or at the drawing board. We are forced to create something from what is in front of us, which is what the ‘Rona or other life situations in 2020 has made us do.
We’ve all been experiencing a crappy hand and can choose to make the best of it. I made chicken-not-pie casserole. I’ve adjusted my business expectations to be small, realistic, and actionable in light of the global pandemic. I’m choosing to believe that others are doing the best they can and extend compassion without fully understanding why people are making the choices they are.
How are you letting yourself continue to improvise, switch gears, or pivot your life or business so that you make the best of the hand you were given?
Stay curious friends!