Covid- The Best and Worst of Times – Better with Lemon Pudding on a Buttery Round

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it wast the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us. — Charles Dickens – A Tale of Two Cities

God I wish I’d written that. It’s not only brilliant, it’s so true right now. I’m seeing the best and worst of life. The yin and yang of Covid 19.

I can enjoy a Mother’s Day with at least one of my kids, but can’t hug my son like I so love to do. I melted to tears the other day when he was here and all I could do was touch the back of his shirt. I had no idea I needed hugs so badly.

I can revel in long walks in the morning and at night, and finally have time to work on my writing projects, but am not assured of a job when this is over – if it’s ever considered over.

I now have the time to travel, but am not supposed to go anywhere.

I am lucky so far to not know anyone personally who has become ill or passed away from Covid 19, yet so many lives have been shattered by death and illness during this pandemic. (I’m knocking furiously on wood as I write this.)

I see people in my neighborhood behaving like angels, unemployed, yet making masks for others and giving away items with a tender generosity of spirit that leaves me speechless. Then I see others, pushing past me with no mask, making no effort at social distancing. And I see piles of used gloves just dumped on the street, as if they’re someone else’s problem.

I think challenging times bring out peoples’s true nature.

I see, in the patch of clover at my front door, yin and yang again. Determined to create a little good luck, I searched that patch to find a four-leaf clover like my mother always could. But I only found a five-leaf clover. Years ago, my mom told me they were bad luck. Thankfully, right beside it was a four-leaf clover.

And I did a tiny bit of digging and discovered Mom may have been wrong. According to the UK’s Daily Mail, (every true journalists trusted resource) a five-leaf clover is said to attract extra good luck, as well as money.

Yin explains the five bucks I won on a scratcher a few days ago and my unemployment money finally showing up. And yang explains why I also just discovered I have an abscessed tooth with the possibility of a root canal in my future, eviscerating any hope of savings.

Something perverse in the universe just loves to laugh at my financial hopes.

And finally, now that I have time, I’m baking more, inventing desserts and dishes, with no one to feed but myself. Yin has brought me a few extra pounds, but yang has delivered this very easy, absolutely delicious, lemon dessert you HAVE TO try!

You can make it for Mom on Mother’s day with a box of Jello Cook and Serve Lemon Pudding and Pie mix, sour cream and a few other ingredients and it’s killer good. I even used pudding mix from June of 2016 (waste not, want not, but I’m sure Jello does not recommend that)and it was delicious. (Make sure you buy the lemon pudding and pie mix you cook, not the instant one.)Or you could make the pudding from scratch, which is always delicious, but not necessary if you want a quick dessert, perfect for a summer day.

Either way, I wish you all a wonderful Mother’s Day. Please, enjoy the best of this time, try to forget the worst, and definitely, have dessert.

Lemon Pudding on a Buttery Round

[cooked-recipe id=”19193″]