The Greatest Gift I Ever Received
From the HOME and the HEART of Matthew Tabar
It's the Thought that Counts
Outside of our faith, and for me my wife, I'm no dummy, I would like to live beyond just the COVID-19 Pandemic, I am going to share with you my greatest gift.....All joking aside this gift has lived with me for a lifetime, and truthfully I'm not sure if I received it for my birthday or for Christmas. But, I was in Fourth Grade, can you imagine it, Mr. Tabar was once in 4th grade, albeit Miss Rahn, our fourth grade teacher wasn't alive at that time, but it's true. And guess what, it was a book! Not just any book, but a cookbook :-). Even better, it was just what I asked for, it wasn't the greatest cookbook, but it was a cookbook geared for kids. My family of six was the test subjects of random meals and snacks made by a fourth grade "Chef".
As time progressed and I continued through my life, cooking, remained a passion in my life. Through college and the thoughts of culinary school, cooking still continued to be a passion in my life. Time passes and you move from one house to another, but now my kitchen became my priority, because now my kitchen was my refuge. No matter what was happening in my life, in school, or with my family, my refuge was to dice, chop, slice, julienne, and prepare an amazing meal. Prior to COVID-19, I would call my wife everyday on my way home from Corpus Christi Academy and ask her what she wanted for dinner, I would stop at the store, pick up the fresh ingredients, and prepare a meal. The shopping in the store, the talking to the employees, the prepping, and the cooking of the meal, that was my way to unwind, relax, decompress, and prepare for tomorrow. Dinner was the result of my relaxation, dinner was the result of my contemplation, and dinner was the result of a gift I received from my mother and father over 30 years ago.
The reason I wanted to share this with all of you is because I am here with you, our life and patterns are not the same, but we are here together as a family, as a community, and as Corpus Christi Academy. Our stories are all not the same, are circumstances all have nuances, and are needs are all very different, but when I had a chance to slice a potato to cook for the first time since all of this transpired (we have been getting rid of leftovers), add some spices, turn on the oven and COOK, it gave me a sense of relaxation. Please, Please, Please use this time with your families to develop new skills, find new ways to interact, and maybe one of these things that you do with your family will LAST a LIFETIME!
PS. At times throughout this message I hoped to bring a little levity; in no way, shape, or form am I or is CCA taking light of this situation. We are here to support you and we hope that all of our families are healthy and safe, be well everyone! Corpus Christi Academy Believes that Jesus is the Model