October 13, 2014

Last night I had suuuchhh a pain in my side that it hurt to breathe.  I hoped it would go away by morning, but it didn't.  Initially I thought my system was simply shocked at all the food I had consumed, but by this morning I realized I must have pulled a chest muscle near my ribs. I didn’t do all the yoga poses, but stretched myself, then popped a few ibuprofen and sat, ready to go to work half an hour earlier than usual.  I sulked.  Not enough time to hit that REM sleep, dammit.

Off to work, and the newest student in our revolving-door class.   Before too long, the rest of my body joined my ribs and I realized that I had been a little more enthusiastic than I thought on my hike, but of course....it was just me and the dogs, so there was no need to slow down for kids.   The high point of my day was eating that large “dessert” salad I had purchased the day before.  Is it silly to want to just jump into it and just Be with The Salad???  <what the hell is happening to me???> 

  

Bounced home after work  to close my eyes for one..brief... <ring>....momen...<beep>.  Sigh.  Fuck it.  On the way to go pick up sick Mags from dad's when Ethan calls.  No study hall...no tutoring.     He had gone on a field  trip and brought me back some spicy peppers and a squash.  Still…I hadn’t even considered about what we would have for dinner that night.  You people who plan and have menus…I don’t understand you.  Then Ethan pipes up, “Oh!  I know…  Grandma brought some crab for me – it’s in the freezer.  I’ll grab it when we pick up Maggie.”  OHHELLYES!!!!  Maggie, who’d had the first sick day in years, looked like she felt bad, with sunken eyes..and a pale face.  Yet on the way home, she  said she was going to bake some cupcakes at home, so I knew everything would be ok.

I dropped them off at home  and headed to the G.O. to pick some food staples:  French cheese, Italian olive oil, French bread.  I was in the parking lot about to head home when I noticed a shopping cart enter the street from the lot.  Two cars rushed over, stopping, as drivers where about to exit the vehicles to lend a helping hand and a G.O. employee raced towards the street to retrieve the errant cart.  Placerville:  Coming together in times of need. So proud.  At home, Maggie got right to making cupcakes as I started the side dish of Quinoa – Grains of the Gods. I also made some mint/ parsley/ginger tea and bottled it up.   Did a little communicating with Sweet Tim Walker, who will be adding to my book collection, and then Ethan and I go to boiling the crab and heating the butter (if there is one thing I have done right as a parent, it is raise a child who is not  fond of crab(Maggie), so there is more for me, plus I have taught Ethan how to share).  I took the first bite, dipped it in butter, and screamed.  It was sooooo goooooddddd!!I made my "good food” noises for much of dinner and Ethan and I celebrated it Ethiopian style (we ate with our hands).  Then Mags finished her cupcakes and presented me with one.  I screamed again.  So light and fluffy – the frosting so delightful. Plus I selected a terrific Italian cheese.  My tummy is very happy tonight.

The kids and I had fun dancing around to Anders Osborne in the “Music Center” tonight – there is an entire recording on Spotify with him playing at Hangtown last year – Look it up: October 25, 2013.  He won’t be there this year, but I am looking forward to it.  And so, my heart dances a little again now that my kids are home.  I have a powerpoint presentation for class in a couple of weeks, but for now I think things are ok.  I plan to have a beautiful fall weekend with the kids as we go explore a part of our beautiful countryside.

Pictures:  The longhorns that my dad hung in our garage when I was a kid.  Now they help add flair to our music center; Peppers Ethan got for me on his field trip; Mint/Parsley/Ginger tea; Crab with a little mint ;)