"It's Not Stale Bread If You Are Starving"

I heard a great saying recently, one that has helped me appreciate what I have: "It's not stale bread if you are starving."

Thankfully, I've never been starving, but thinking about this axiom has helped me look at things in a different light.

During the summer, my garden produced dozens of beautiful turnips, beets, carrots, scallions and tomatillos, plus plenty of dark leafy greens (kale, mustard, chard, etc.), lettuces, broccoli and other vegetables. I never took this bounty for granted, but I probably wasn't as grateful as I could have been.

Now, as the growing season concludes, a small, ugly turnip or beet that I pull from the ground is a prized possession. The other day, when I harvested my last three carrots, I felt a tinge of sadness knowing that winter is on the horizon. Yet, this was countered by the knowledge that I will savor every bite of these three carrots, something that I may not have been wont to do while eating summer's seemingly endless supply.

"It's not stale bread if you are starving."