My niece lives in New Hampshire. When she came to visit over the holidays she gifted me with pure maple syrup, and a bag of pancake mix. I was giddy at the prospect of pancakes on Christmas. 

 

A friend told me about the process of sugaring. The cold weather has an impact on when the sap starts to run, alerting you to get your buckets in place. At first the liquid is clear, and unimpressive as to taste. Over a period of weeks the sticky sap fills your waiting containers. The wonders of syrup would never have been discovered if everyone was impatient. 

 

You hoist your buckets home and start to boil the sap. It takes a long, long time, and if your source of heat involves wood you have to keep feeding it. Once my friend actually used a cauldron, which added to the mystique. Gradually the water evaporates, leaving behind the sweet confection which has darkened in the process. Fry up your hotcakes and dig in. 

 

I thought about the process of becoming a kinder person. It is slower than I would like, and at first the rewards can seem colorless. Niceties like "please" and "I don't mind you going first" can be rote and without much taste. But eventually the warmth wins out and a transformation takes place. 

 

Maybe I will go find some maple trees and learn about endurance.