Yesterday was a top day. For the first time in a long time I made a full blown dinner from some good friends here and while that in itself seems like a ‘normal’ thing to do, I loved that I had the opportunity to do it. In London, my flat was too small to play the host properly so it really has been quite a while since I could ‘get in there’ and make a mess and enjoy the labour of love that is handling good food in a beautiful big kitchen in order to feed people who have come to mean so much to me. Call me a sap, but such simplicity is really what I want my life to be about.
Slow-cooking is a luxury and I luxuriated in the process of watching this meal come to fruition. And the resulting feast when down a treat! The crackling on my first pork belly roast came out perfectly, and second and third servings (and plenty of ‘hygge’) were savoured.
Fast forward a few hours and I was sharing some down time with my housemate S, digesting both the meal and the day with a cigarette out an open window. I felt so relaxed and easy that I neglected to consider the time (it was very late) and, crucially, the power of my voice (it carries). I was therefore incredibly embarrassed when, from a window somewhere above me, a stranger’s frustrated voice announced that I was ‘talking too loud’.
Instantly appalled at my lack of consideration, I apologised profusely and closed the window. What? Just over a week into my stay and I’m already annoying my neighbours? Not a good thing. While such things do happen, and, for the record, I do not feel this is tantamount to a serious infringement of building rules, I do think it’s fair to say that they had a right to be annoyed if our conversation was of no interest to them. I felt bad about it.
I woke up this morning determined to make amends so went in search of some kind of ‘peace pipe’ so as not to seem indifferent to the disturbance I had (albeit, inadvertently) caused. I thought about a bottle of wine or a box of chocolates, but then settled on a lovely succulent I saw in a flower shop. The kind lady in the shop was sympathetic to my plight and readily recognised both the need to pitch the apology at the right level, and the sincerity of my intention. The plant would symbolise growth and hope. And much like the way my apple crumble was meant to complement the pork roast dinner, the purple ceramic pot with white polka dots perfectly complemented the pale green of this cute, roundy plant tied with matching ribbon and tagged with a card reading “Undskyld!” The goal was to make them smile - though a nod goes to the plant shop lady who said, laughing, “Now, you put the guilt on them!”* Aha!
I am optimistic the plant will fulfil its role (and that I will always remember to keep the windows closed late at night!). Meanwhile, this micro-altercation has not dampened my spirits one iota. It has reinforced in me that sense of community and responsibility towards others I so crave and therefore, strive to nurture. The chance to make amends should never be overlooked nor underestimated. It needn’t cost much - be it a few kroner or a little pride - for the payoff to be huge. It’s about encouraging peace of mind and to me, right now, that is its own reward.
Random Girl
*Funnily enough, my housemate subsequently identified the main occupant of the flat above as “Angryman”, a moniker he’d reportedly earned from previous tenants below. “He’s just angry all the time”, says S. So, I was apparently dealing with “Mrs Angryman”. Wow. Choose your enemies wisely.
No comments:
Post a Comment