The Freezer and Grace

“The freezer didn’t get closed all the way.”  

Not “you left the freezer open.”

After 48 hours, everything was thawed.  So he started cutting frozen pork into cubes and putting in one crock pot.  Frozen round steak was trimmed and placed in another crock pot.  I unplugged the old freezer and began the process of defrosting, which hadn’t been done in about a year.  Large ice blocks clung to the side and top of the freezer.  Stains from frozen raspberries and blueberries were everywhere.  (Ziploc bags are not completely airtight!)  One lone ice cream sandwich lay flattened against the ice at the bottom of everything - sad!

After it was all cleaned out and wiped dry, the things deemed unusable were placed in bags in the bottom.  I know it’s odd, but in the summer, we freeze garbage that might attract flies.  On garbage day, it will go to the curb, but for now, it waits in the freezer.

Inside, the meats are cooking in their crock pots, chicken and chicken broth are boiling merrily.  Ground turkey has been made into taco meat.  The smells don’t really go together but it is necessary.  We leave the crock pots simmering while we go to bed.

In the morning, after chopping up the meat and placing it in containers, he takes them to the freezer in the garage.

“The freezer didn’t get plugged in.”

Not “you didn’t plug in the freezer.”

I could kick myself.  But he says we all need to extend a little grace to each other.  I think he’s right.