vulnerability and all of those "d" words

“I just LOVE that Dan Rather’s newsletter touched on vulnerability today.” Thalia rested her hands on her stomach. She still felt full after last night’s meal. “Wasn’t that steak delicious? Why can’t Typist pull something like that off at home? Or, does restaurant food simply taste better because we didn't have to cook it? Being waited on is sometimes quite nice.”

Urania glugged an entire tumbler of water before replying. “It’s the salt. Salt amplifies the flavor of food. As an occasional treat… I’m all in!”

“Things were a bit different at the kid’s favorite birthday celebration restaurant. Were we last there in 2019 or 2020? I’ve lost all track of time with this pandemic going on.” Calliope pulled a piece of dried frosting from her sleeve and popped it into her mouth. “Yum! I just love angel food cake. Bummer that the restaurant’s menu has cut out salads, bread, appetizers.. all kinds of options they used to have… a little disappointing. The salad with shredded raw beets and topped with parmesan peppercorn dressing was my favorite!”

“Well… Typist’s better half raised some good points. The restaurant might be cutting weight so that it can stay afloat?” asked Nia. “Rising beef costs, staffing shortages, months and months without customers? I’m just grateful the place is still in business and that we were able to get out to support them.”

“Dan’s newsletter talks about pondering a perilous time… dire, dangerous, demoralizing… What if we reframe that to pondering a time of possibilities? Dedication, delight, day by day? What if we spend more time looking inside ourselves for how we can contribute instead of criticizing what we see outside of us? Is that vulnerability, too?” asked the Muse of Many Questions.

Feeling Vulnerable