The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie

by Rachel Linden

‘Miracles are not contrary to nature, but only contrary to what we know about nature.’

“When we make a choice, we necessarily limit all the other choices. Every path narrows our options, every decision closes many other doors. Yet we make a choice hoping we’re trading all the other options for the one that will be the best.”

“It took me a while to finally understand the truth. Sometimes things don’t work out the way we hoped, despite our best intentions. And when they go pear-shaped, you have to let them. You can’t keep holding on, trying to redo the past and stop the bad things from happening. They happened, and you can’t change that. You can’t keep holding on to the vision of the future you imagined you’d have, the way you thought things would turn out. You have to let the present be what it is—broken, flawed, painful, but real.”

you cling so tight to something that’s already broken, to a life and dream that can never come true, you don’t have space in your life for anything else, for the good and real plan Bs.”

Was this what motherhood felt like? I wondered, glancing at their heads bent low over a game of Chutes and Ladders as Sophia helped Freya move forward five spaces. Was it this sweet ache lodged in the center of your breastbone, a powerful feeling of protection and adoration of these little people in equal parts that eclipsed all exhaustion, all inconvenience? It was boredom and panic and satisfaction and heart-melting sweetness all rolled into one. It was its own kind of bliss.

“Some things aren’t meant to be mended,” she said finally, gently. “Sometimes it’s in the breaking that the light can finally shine through.”