My freezer is filled with broth.
And a bulk bag of ends to someday make broth, though I’ll
never follow through. But I’ll tell you that Yes, I’ve been
making a lot of broth these days.
I’ve theoretically been making a lot of broth.
Instead, I keep mason jars filled with small odds and loose
ends.
I fill the freezer to the brim with my broths, but I never make
soup. I order out instead.
Somewhere in a box at the back, I keep the eyeglasses I’ve
misplaced. I keep loose appointment cards for the therapy
sessions I’ll never make. I’ve placed a cozy chair in the corner
and a miniature fern, a tapestry. I take all of my calls in there
now. Zoom meetings with my camera turned off.
Tucked between arepas con queso and manchego turnovers, I
store the Greek alphabet in there.
I’ve filled some jars with newspaper clippings. My freezer
can’t forget the current events. But they keep piling up.
I’ve cut out nine hundred thousand obituaries. I keep
counting.
And I have Hot Pockets, too.
Mary Claire Kiolbasa is a native of the Chicago suburbs now living in Nashville. She studied writing at Knox College and the Art Institute of Chicago. She can be found on Instagram at @mckiolbasa and @harpethhandmade.