This November, MHT is participating in the Miry’s List Friendsgiving Fundraising Drive. The money goes to programs that support refugee families that have been resettled in the United States. In tandem with these efforts, our clinicians are writing posts reflecting on what home means to them.
I still remember how satisfying it was when I learned to mimic the knife skills of my favorite Food Network stars. My weekend mornings weren’t spent watching cartoons, but rather visualizing myself leaning over the kitchen countertops on the sets of Emeril Lagasse and Ming Tsai, taking in their knowledge of flavors, textures, cooking temperatures, and more. I would watch on the television, and then transfer what I learned to the ingredients in my refrigerator and pantry. While I’m sure I began with some basic recipes, my most salient culinary memories include the meals that emerged out of what was already available in the house. It was deeply gratifying to craft a meal by paying deep attention to my senses and eventually ending up with something that pleased the palate. This was the magic of cooking.
As we have spent this season at MHT reflecting on home, I’ve felt sensitive to how the word could evoke rather complicated feelings and associations for many, myself included. I immediately turned to my relationship with cooking as a metaphor because in those early years of teaching myself how to work with food, I believe I was simultaneously learning about the complexity of working with what one’s been handed in this life. Feeling at home in one’s family, in one’s self, in any given place, is a complicated task that can require confronting and working through a lot of pain or hardship. Finding and experiencing a true sense of home does not come with an easily translatable recipe – rather it requires spending the time making contact with the experiences and relationships one has had, accepting and finding the usefulness in it all (or throwing out what is spoiled!), and improvising to account for what is lacking. Finding home takes as many adjustments as needed along the way until you land somewhere that is nourishing.
Yes, home is a delicious and hard-won meal that I take pride in sharing with others.
“Finding and experiencing a true sense of home does not come with an easily translatable recipe – rather it requires spending the time making contact with the experiences and relationships one has had, accepting and finding the usefulness in it all (or throwing out what is spoiled!), and improvising to account for what is lacking.”
HERE'S HOW YOU CAN PARTICIPATE IN FRIENDSGIVING WITH US:
Give! Visit our Miry’s List campaign page and make a donation. It's that simple and no sum is too small. Truly.
Follow! Be sure to follow us on Instagram and our blog throughout the month of November. We will be reflecting on what it means to be welcomed, received, and known.
Share! Help us spread the word. You can do this by sharing our social media posts or links to our Miry’s List Friendsgiving Fundraiser page.
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A little about Miry’s List:
Refugee families come to the United States seeking a safe haven from violence and persecution in their home countries. They leave behind family and friends, as well as virtually everything they own. Many Americans, seeing these families in their communities, wonder: What can I do to help? Miry's List provides a mechanism for people to directly help new arrival refugee families with the things that they need to get started in their new lives – from diapers to beds to cleaning supplies and toiletries. To learn more, visit miryslist.org.
Lauren Furutani, MA, LMFT, helps individuals and families of all ethnic and faith backgrounds maneuver through the unexpected turns in life. She is also Client Care Coordinator at Michelle Harwell Therapy.