Was that really me?

I was making banana bread a couple of days ago. I usually make it into muffins instead of loaves and it's something I have done for a hundred years with no problems. It's Mom's recipe and they always turn out yummy, so I couldn't wait to taste test these delights. I had my wet ingredients and sugar mixed and threw in a little flour but I had to go downstairs to get more flour because I had run out of it in the pantry. The only thing I had downstairs was my food storage flour in a big bucket so brought it up to finish off the recipe. Now most of you who know me, know that I am a very laid back, calm person 99% of the time and if there is a way to make things better I can usually find a way, which makes me even more confident and happy. Men (and women) are that that might have joy, you know.

Wellllllll, I could not get the lid off that bucket. I tried everything I could think of. There wasn't one of those zip tabs around the lid, and the tabs on the bucket would not bend. I pried open the front with a screw driver and then tried to pry open the sides and back so it would pop off. Nada. I then got the knife sharpening tool out because it was long and I thought if I ran it around the inside of the rim it would come off but NOOOOO, it was stuck like glue. I tried so hard that I broke the knife sharpener. (I NEED TO FINISH THE BANANA BREAD! OK calm down now, what can I do next?) I kept trying for 30 MINUTES!!!! My hand was scraped up now and my biceps were hurting. I was able to keep the front pried up about 2 inches but the 1 cup measuring cup would not fit into the bucket.


Now, I have a little 2 year old grandson and I have seen him get frustrated at things he cannot do. He will just stop and scream out of frustration and then burst into tears. Guess what I did? Yes, I screamed and burst into tears. I could identify with little E exactly at that moment. When your desires don't meet your abilities, it results in so much frustration that your emotions just take over.

I took a deep breath, felt ridiculous, and used my smaller measuring cup to get as much flour out as I could from the crack in the front. I ended up not getting enough flour for the whole recipe and the muffins turned out a little too moist and flat. I might add that it was a super duper batch too, not just a one batch recipe and it ended up making enough muffins to put in the freezer. When Wayne came home he thought they were delicious, better than ever.

When I told Wayne of my trial he jumped right in to help. He did have a hard time too, but got the lid off in less than 5 minutes.

Now for the rest of the story. I have resolved to do more bicep curls, I am back to my jolly self, we have many muffins for later consumption, I can feel E's pain when he is frustrated, and the lid is off. Life is good again. Whew! But, stay away from me when I have that moment 1% of the time. It is not a pretty site and you will be scared, very scared.