Home Cooked Meals

Being an empty nester is a sort of challenge. With just two of us, it is tempting to just eat out most of the time; but then I realize that something is really missing when I don't prepare a good meal and enjoy it at home. This last week, we have had our daughter and her boys come to stay and so I stocked the fridge and starting cooking again. The stove seemed surprised as I stirred it from a deep sleep.

It certainly helped that there is a new Harmon's grocery store in Farmington that I visited for the first time and immediately had a renewed desire to cook again. Can you say, FABULOUS? Who would have thought a grocery store could offer a shopping high. I wandered around the store in awe and they finally said, "Lady, are you alright?"

Now we will just see how long this love affair with the grocery store lasts along with a renewed commitment to cook. Even though I have had the opportunity to eat in some fabulous restaurants, I have to say that there is just the greatest satisfaction in being able to cook and eat at home. Being a homemaker is really one of the greatest blessings. There is no place like home.

Facebook Friends

My last post was actually written and saved months ago, but my college friend Lisa's comment compelled me to further address the capturing the moment theme.

You see, we had another college roommate that just sent me a friend request three weeks ago. I immediately accepted the request and thought I should send her a reply reminiscing about the good times we had together and what a joy she was in my life during those college years and how good it was to connect with her again. Well, I didn't think I had time since I was going out of town a couple of times on different sides of the state, and so I procrastinated. The morning after returning home the second time, I got on facebook and thought I would finally send her a message. Well, I discovered that she had died just days before and her funeral was actually just two days prior to my intention to send her a message.

Moral of the story--Seize the moment. You never know how long that moment will last. I sent the message to her daughter instead and trust that Dawn will also still get it, but it would have been sweet to have a two-way conversation with her instead.

Enjoy Every Moment

I was just putting on hand lotion, and because it is something I do so routinely, I am unusually not mindful of it and just rub it into my hands quickly. But just this moment because of my awareness commitment, I was completely tuned into that simple little process and was more fully present in the experience. It was kind of like my life movie film suddenly went into slow motion and I enjoyed the creaminess of the lotion, the smell, and how loving and nurturing it felt to my hands. I know, I know, you are sitting there saying, "She's cracked and finally gone over the edge. I knew it would happen soon." But this little experience taught me something profoundly important. In a life where bigger is better and we want more and more (at least I do), it is nice to have the reminder and assurance that it can be the simple things that can create joy and satisfaction if we let them.