Scenes from a Sunday
This past week, we got some bad news. An old friend of my husband’s, one of his best friends, was diagnosed with ALS. I can’t think of any worse news than that- there are plenty of other fatal illnesses, but the progression of ALS is especially devastating. It’s terrible to think of what this man and his family will be going through over the next couple of years. This situation, combined with ever-present thoughts about the families of the children killed in Texas, threatens to overwhelm me with sadness at times. But then, in the midst of it all, I’ll experience a moment of… clarity? I become hyperaware of the fact that I’m alive and breathing, that my family is safe and healthy, and how incredibly precarious it all is. It’s a reminder that life is finite- but that’s what makes it all so precious. So I present to you a Sunday in my life, filled with mundane but also priceless moments… starting at 5:45 am when my alarm went off. Yep, I got up for an early run from my house to the beach! It’s a run I love but don’t get to do very often. Someone (i.e. my husband) has to pick me up there- it’s nine miles to the beach, but I tack on one extra mile (because why run nine when you could run ten?) One of these days, when my long run is up to 18 miles, I’ll run there and back. To get to the beach, I leave my house and run straight east, which means directly into the sun. Because I got an early start, my first few miles were relatively “cool.” Around mile five I ate a caffeinated gel, and that really pepped me up. Although it was starting to get super hot, the second half of this run felt better than the first. The whole time I was just so happy I was doing it! This was the run I wanted to do on my birthday, but couldn’t because of my foot. So heat or no heat, I was just happy to be out there. When I got to the beach I ended the run the way every hot, sweaty run should end- with a swim in the ocean. The water was cool and beautiful! My husband had just finished his run (he drove to the beach and did a short run there) so we swam together and then left. On the way home we stopped at Starbucks. At home, I drank my favorite Starbucks Earl Grey tea while eating oatmeal and reading blogs. And then… the Great Kitchen Reorganization continued. In my last post, I shared that my son had bullied us into taking everything out of the kitchen and reorganizing it. This was not fun (I know… shocking surprise.) We tried to keep a sense of humor about it, and laughed at many weird and scary items in the pantry. The clear winner was a bottle of hoisin sauce in the fridge that expired in 2013. Oops. Getting everything put away and organized took all day (with breaks for eating and napping, obviously) and then it was time to cook! My son had promised to make an Asian “feast” and he was true to his word. He made fried rice, a mushroom dish (I don’t like mushrooms so I didn’t eat that one) and Kung Pao tofu and broccoli. I was assigned the task of making an Asian slaw, and I think he included that just to appease my desire for more vegetables on the table. Here’s the difference between a 19-year-old beginning chef and a 56-year-old mom- my main focus is on making things healthy, and his main focus is on making everything as delicious as possible. I get it! When I was 19 I was eating things like Lucky Charms and Twinkies. I certainly wasn’t cooking Asian feasts, so he’s way ahead of where I was. Still… I’d like a little less oil, salt and sugar in my meals. But I’ll admit it was delicious. Then we had dessert! Steamed buns and fortune cookies, all purchased on our trip to the Chinese grocery store. I didn’t actually eat these because I don’t eat sugar (unless someone insists upon putting it in the Kung Pao tofu) but I did open a fortune cookie. I was hoping my fortune would be something meaningful that would go with the theme of this post- “Make every moment count” or “Life is precious” but no. My fortune said “Keep mouth shut- the golden rule.” WHAT?! I don’t want to keep my mouth shut! I feel like that fortune was vaguely insulting. At least it’s better than a fortune my friend got recently: ‘There will be a lot of laundry in your future.” Ha ha… she didn’t appreciate that. Anyway! My Sunday included an amazing run, a swim in the ocean, an afternoon spent with my son, a delicious meal that the whole family enjoyed together…and oh yeah- a beautifully cleaned kitchen. Life is so good. Thanks to Kim and Zenaida! I’m linking this post with their “Tuesday Topics.”