Spring Festival we made dumplings together at my son's place. This is the first time that we did it since we moved out of Kansas. My daughter commented that it reminded her of the old time.
My children enjoy having dumplings. We have been buying them from stores. I thought homemade should be healthier than store-made. So I decided to try homemaking this time.
I told my children, it's a tradition in north China that family sits around the table making dumplings together during the holiday. It's a pleasant surprise when I saw their enthusiasm in embracing this tradition.
There's an extra unexpected bonus: a new realization. I used to make dough for steamed bread when we were in Kansas but stopped doing it after we got bread machine here. Sounds like a progress when machine replaces man power, right? Not really.
I felt soreness on my low arm that day because I have not made dough for a few years. It was not like this before. The Chinese saying goes, 用进废退 (Yòng jìn fèi tuì) Use it or lose it.
Obviously the muscle on my low arm has decreased because I stopped using it as much as before. The soreness reminds me once again that I have to keep making dough like before to stop the decrease. Same can be said of our brain muscles. Utilizing and exercising our mental power are crucial for maintaining cognitive function and preventing mental decline.
One more thought, the modern home appliances have no doubt improved people's lives. On the other hand, it comes with an additional cost to us, e.g. leaving us less physically active as before.