I have always loved to bake. So when my visiting brother brought home a bag full of fresh Richmond dyke trail blackberries, I immediately thought of pie. As I rolled out the crust, I reflected on all the other times I had made pies; first as a little girl helping by my mother’s side, later as a tentative

teen unsure of my own skills, then as a twenty-something hosting bustling pumpkin pie parties and churning out 30 or 40 pies. Comfort with a task certainly comes over time and with practice.

But despite making lots of pies, I always struggled with pie crusts. I wanted my crusts to roll out into beautiful circles and to look pretty. I knew one was supposed to handle pastry lightly, but the crust just wouldn’t roll out right! I would crumple my rolled out dough back into a ball and tried again and again. My crusts always had the desired look in the end, but they were tough and doughy.

These days I don’t have time for fancy. I roll out a crust once and then flop the misshapen blob into the pie plate, patching gaps as needed. My crusts don’t look perfectly even or symmetrical, but they are flaky, light and delicious like never before. It makes me laugh as I think back on all my misguided effort! But I also cringe and I know there are other areas of my life I still try too hard, hurting my results with the misdirected effort that comes out of insecurity.

What about you? What do you need to handle more lightly?

What are you over-working in your life?