Producer Julie here! How’s everyone doing? January is the month of one thousand days. It feels like New Year's Day was 3 months ago. I went to a yoga class the first week of January and even the instructor said “January is not the time to reinvent yourself, it’s time to mimic nature and hibernate. Lofty goals are for March.” Yes! Loved her! That message really resonated, so much so that I stopped going to yoga.
On Parenting is a Joke, we have a new episode out this week with the very funny comedian Tom Papa. We talk about his love of gnomes, his dislike of paddle boarding on vacation, and how he’s adjusting to his first year as an empty nester.
Tom also talked about sourdough bread and how he’s been baking it for 10 years, way before it was trendy! I just recently went on my own unexpected journey into the dark world of sourdough…
I didn’t make sourdough during the pandemic. Why? Between Zoom school with two kindergarteners and life without restaurants, learning to keep any new thing alive that created more dirty dishes didn’t sound appealing. Plus, my natural instinct is to buck any popular cultural trend when it’s having a moment — I was the only kid in my 3rd-grade class in the Boston suburbs who didn’t like New Kids On The Block.
My sourdough starter was born right after Thanksgiving 2023, at a time that was feeling particularly stressful because of some big family health stuff, a busy work schedule, and the dreaded start of the 4:18p sunsets.
I, like many parents, use outdoor exercise as a form of therapy. Whether it’s running, mountain biking, or cross-country skiing —it helps me clear my brain that is often a spinning Rubix cube of kid doctors appointments, grocery lists, and work to-dos, with low levels of climate change and election anxiety peppered in. But right before Thanksgiving, I hurt my knee. You may ask, how did I hurt my knee? Was it on a beautiful run through the country roads of Vermont or a backcountry nordic ski adventure with friends? No. Instagram served me an anti-aging strength video. I believed that the algorithm had my best interests in mind and I tried it. On the first “squat twist” I promptly blew out my knee.
Amidst the initial searing pain and near-death embarrassment from hurting myself doing the first move of an anti-aging video, my mind started racing: HOW WILL I RELIEVE STRESS??? WHAT IF I NEED SURGERY? IF I CAN’T SKI THIS WINTER WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU DO IN VERMONT? HOW OLD AM I? Now I completely understand that these are very small problems in a world of very big problems. But, I needed something that could give me some mind/body connection and provide a bit of an escape. Alcohol? Sure, but that’s not gonna solve it all the time…I got it! Baking! But make it more tedious and time-intensive!!!!
The only thing more insufferable to talk about than running and dream stories: sourdough baking! Over the next 6 weeks, I made it all. I baked with sourdough every day. The combination of kneading dough and having a 48-hour project that ended with eating warm, deliciously complex and chewy breads was a real win-win! Especially helpful when I needed an immediate distraction from life stuff that inevitably comes up. Family friend dies? Get out the bread flour! Kid has a fever? Time to try making sourdough focaccia. Other kid gets a fever? Sourdough everything bagels for the whole neighborhood, salted with the tears of my own existential crisis.
My husband would reactively ask “oh no what happened now?” when he’d find me in the kitchen covered in flour, knowing that I was baking my way through my problems. I attempted intricate bread art when my mom was in the hospital. I sent a photo of my focaccia art to one of my best friends and she replied immediately asking if I needed a wellness check.
But, each stressor was no match for the beautiful rises, golden brown crunchy crusts, and the look of joy on my son’s face as he inhaled his daily sourdough crumpet that I whipped up with the discard. As the holidays neared I wanted to teach the kids that it can be nice to think of other people and not just focus on guessing the contents of every present under the tree. So we baked together (I did all the steps that didn’t involve chocolate chips) and delivered it to people going through a hard time. Our recently widowed neighbor, our family friend in the hospital, our friends with Covid. I thought I was instilling a good deed until my son asked “Oh, so when you are sad, eating a bunch of baked treats helps you feel better?” Ahhh, kids, finding the nuance in everything.
Soon after the holidays, my knee began to heal. I’m still emotionally healing from my doctor diagnosing me with “being in my mid-40s” “overdoing it” and “early arthritis” - none of which can easily be solved with prescription drugs. But, the holiday stress was over, my mom was recovering well and we were finally getting snow. The starter got pushed to the end of the counter and then this past week, it made its way into the fridge. My daily sourdough therapy is done, for now. I think I am starting to feel better because yesterday I bought my first loaf of what my family openly mocks me for calling “store bread” in 6 weeks. For now, they can make their own sandwiches, I’ll be outside running from my problems!
What activity is the best for your stressed-out brain. Let me know because we here at Parenting is a Joke are always looking for new ideas (should I buy a sewing machine?)
Check out this week’s episode with Tom Papa, and look forward to new episodes with Seth Herzog, and Liz Glazer and so many more!