Time to Darn the Holes, and Smell the Roses

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Love people, use things, because the opposite never works.
~ the Minimalists [YouTube]

I woke early with Husband, I get up at 6ish to have a coffee with him and yes, I make his lunch. I never did before now, not when I was a stay-at-home-mom, not when I made my own, but now I do. I am giving him a lunch like a kiss, as he navigates his day. We used to work together, for most of the last seven years, and we spent all those commuting hours together as well.

This week I have turned a corner. I have achieved separation and the ownership over the tasks that used to fill my day. I have let go of my self-importance and my ego. There is a lot of space left where my self-importance lived. There exists energy and time.

The other day I bought the most beautiful pullover sweater from VV. It was priced at $2.99, because there were a few small moth holes in it... So yesterday I darned the holes. I sat by the kitchen window and darned, then I shaved all the nubs off it with this hand-held tool I bought when I was in Toronto with my friend Randy. Then I put it on and wore it.

Such a simple task, that I would not have allowed myself time to complete a month ago. I feel that my mind is resetting. This morning I saw the overripe pineapple in the fridge, so I made pineapple cake. I can't remember the last time I baked something new.

With my new employment - at a well known coffee joint - I will be earning less and working less. This is absolutely what I have been working toward this year, as I trekked across Portugal, making plans in my mind to disengage from where I was spending the bulk of my week.

I bought a gorgeous cookbook a few years ago. I was in a bookstore and recognized it from a magazine at home, and picked it up based on the beautiful photos, the promise of health and how wholesome everything looked. I carry it around. I carry it to the swing, to pick out something to make, I carry it to the sofa, to browse, but I have not used it one time, in three years.

The author made the recipes difficult to follow. She uses alternative names for vegetables and fruits, and when she introduced a [new to me] technique, she didn't explain it. I would set this cookbook out on my counter, as though I used it, with the older, stained cookbooks that had earned that privilege.

Today, it's out of here.

Sorry Donna Hay, I'm just not cool enough for your recipes, but fuck, your photos were beautiful.





Comments

  1. KarenOctober 19, 2018 at 11:00 AM

    Oh no, I get the useless cookbook thing too. Hubby bought a Chinese cookbook and an English cookbook at VV. The photos are amazing, and the food sounds delicious, but the ingredients and techniques are either unattainable or difficult to understand. I'm on the hunt for a replacement copy of my grandmothers old cookbook which has been shredded by overuse. Grandma was a home economics teacher in Niagara Falls so I expect this book was used in the classroom. My MIL found a copy at the second hand store she works at and was telling me she has seen the same book under different titles, so I'm optimistic.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Debra She Who SeeksOctober 19, 2018 at 1:20 PM

    Glad you will be achieving your goal of working but still with lots of time for yourself! That's great!

    ReplyDelete

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