A meal on a day when I wasn't perfect, but I was saved.

— Just laid out. A night that felt put together nonetheless.

“I don't have the energy to cook properly.”
That was the kind of day it was.

Frozen grilled fish.
Leftover kinpira.
Rice that had been cooked, and natto.

Just that, an ordinary dinner.

Even so, I took them out one by one into bowls,
and for the miso soup, I quickly made it with simple ingredients.

A table where I truly just laid things out in bowls.

But—
I felt a little bit saved.

Making a meal takes more energy than you'd think.
Buying, washing, cutting, heating, adjusting the flavor...
There are days when I just can't do that.

But rather than blaming myself for not being able to do it,
if I could think, “Even so, it became a meal,”
I felt like my heart would feel just a little lighter.

Cooking doesn't always have to be done properly.
Just having steam rising,
just having tried plating it in a bowl,
there are days when I feel a little bit put together.

It's not perfect.
But it was enough.
And that was sufficient.

On days when I think, “I couldn't do my best,” maybe that night's meal was what truly supported me.

I hope to write down words that make me feel that way,
little by little, here.

May someone else's meal today also feel like it was “enough.”

♦︎If you'd like, here is some seasonal food as well.
“When I steamed corn, summer became gentle.”
—A story about steamed corn that I end up making over and over when summer comes.