joy week 6: it's the one thing

a trying week leads to a singular joy

I’ll cut right to the chase: Monday I had surgery, Tuesday afternoon I came home, and here it is Sunday morning and I’m still in same position I was in when I got here: semi-prone, on the couch, in no small amount of discomfort. Yet I am determined to find anything that made me happy this week and I’ll tell you what. I found something.

Behold, the humble peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I haven’t had much of an appetite lately and some days a PB&J is all I can manage. Good thing I am a big fan of these delightful sandwiches. Not only do they bring me a wonderful sense of comfort, but they bring me joy. The mere act of putting the sandwich together is a somewhat meditative endeavor. It calms me, it soothes me. I feel at peace when creating my perfect PB&J.

Please do not come at me with gourmet peanut butter and jelly “recipes” as if you can improve on perfection. Do not tell me to add bacon or grill it or make my own jam. It’s the simplicity of the sandwich that provides the most comfort. A jar of Skippy (smooth), a jar of Welch’s grape jelly, white bread (crusts on!). Those are the only three ingredients you need. Slide the peanut butter on one side (do not skimp), spread the jelly on the other side so that the entire piece of bread is covered in a thin layer. Put together, cut into two triangles. That’s it. Do not get fancy.

There are many ways to enjoy the act of eating your PB&J. I will leave that part up to you. Sit on the couch or at the table. Take it outside. Bring it to a park. Share it with your dog. Serve yourself lunch in bed. Just remember it is a sandwich worth savoring. Every bite is a glorious cascade of flavor and texture; it is where food has reached its peak.

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, ranked:

1. when you're seven and home sick and mom brings you lunch in bed
2. when you’re 17 and it’s 3am and you just rolled in from the club
3. when you eat a crustable for breakfast because you're lazy
4. when you are very high and it tastes like a four star meal

So that is this week’s joy. Some weeks there will be several things to talk about. Some weeks you struggle to find one. And when you do find it, it makes all the difference. Hope you had a good week and I hope you are going to go make a PB&J now.