I’ve been having a Festival of all things Julia Child lately. It started when I read her memoir My Life in France. It’s a series of engaging vignettes about her great loves: Paris, French Cooking and her husband Paul.
What really struck me about her story, is that she didn’t care about cooking for the first thirty-some years of her life. She didn’t grow up loving it, she didn’t even have much exposure to cuisine or different styles of cooking.
But through her love affair with France and her husband, she discovered a passion for French cooking. A passion that turned into her life’s work. She found it, not because she was out searching for her passion but because she was embracing life, trying new things, and paying attention to what she enjoyed and what she didn’t.
The really cool thing? It’s not just that she was a spy (she was), but that her first cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, was published when she was about 49. And her first TV show The French Chef debuted when she was in her 50’s.
What’s something that you love to do now, but have trouble finding the time, or something you loved to do as a kid, but is only a distant memory? How easily can you find a small way to bring it into your life?
I see you are a book lover! My passion as a kid was always books. In high school I started reading less – friends, and sports took precedence. At 30 I became a Dad and reading tapered off to nil. Three kids later I am 4- ( I am older :-) and finally getting back to reading. How did I find the time to read? I started taking the MAX instead of driving to work. Gives me the 50 minutes a day I need to get through the books I want to read. Next passion to re-new: need to buy a bicycle … Cya!
Yes, I do love books! Except for the kids part, I had a similar history with my reading tapering off. I didn’t have such a clear-cut reason to start reading again — just got back to it. Don’t know if you saw it, but I have a (neglected) blog about reading. http://ilovebooks.typepad.com/ And now, get that bike!
Hmmmmm… have loved writing for many many eons. Also, love fresh herbs and grinding them up in my mortar and pestle, maybe with rock salt and nuts… a little olive oil and fresh garlic… I love being out in nature, too. The smell of an orchard when the apples are ripening and starting to fall is one of the headiest smells, ever. Love rock skipping on rivers, too. Hmmmm. I think I need me some nature! Now, where’s sprintime?