Life Lately

written Tuesday, Oct. 15...

I'm sitting here in the waiting room of the Buchanan County Health Center waiting for Beau to get out of surgery.  He pulled a ligament right off the bone in his thumb a few weeks ago while fishing in a in Decorah.  Yep, he fell in a trout stream.  His surgery was scheduled in Independence on the same day as my required final for my first eight-week session, so we quickly decided he would have his assistant take him to surgery and bring him home.  I didn't think much of it until we woke up the morning of surgery and started discussing things like anesthesia and post-op doctor reports and how long it would take Beau to be good enough to come home.  Blame it on a season of life that often requires us to operate on a day-by-day basis, but all of a sudden it seemed ridiculous that I wouldn't be there when my husband goes in and comes out of surgery!  So, I rearranged some exit conferences, cancelled class, and was here to witness all the out-of-surgery loopy. ;)  

What struck me most about today was how quickly I had everything covered.  I sent an email to my students and within five minutes received the sweetest response back from a non-traditional student encouraging my decision and assuring me they would all be just fine without our class.  I called my dad to see if he could pick the kids up after he got off work and he agreed without a moment's hesitation.  And all while I was coordinating plans and rearranging schedules, I received a text from Jess that said, "I'm dropping soup off for your crew this evening.  Don't even tell me you don't need to."  It's days like today when you realize just how important the two simple questions Alice Shirey posed in church on Sunday have to a life well spent - 1) Where are you right now? and 2) Where is God right now?  It's hard some days when there's just so much to think about, but if you stop long enough to look at what's right in front of you, God usually has a way to showing up.     

Just keep showing up for each other.  That's the theme I'm taking with me today.  Beau's surgery went well, he'll hopefully make a full recovery in a month or so, and we were thankful to have great nurses and a surgeon friend taking care of him.  So while Beau was looking all sexy in his compression socks and surgical gown, I was typing words and words and words.  From final evaluations to emails to new students to blog posts, I started thinking about these old posts I used to write and felt like bringing it back.       

Eating: At the beginning of the school year, I started an audio book titled, Dinner: A Love Story by Jenny Rosenstrach.  This book is a memoir from a fellow foodie, mama of two, and writer turned blogger, and I happen to have another one of her books, How to Celebrate Everything, a favorite on my shelf. and chronicles her life in the kitchen and the stories that have unfolded around her dinner table from the time she was newly married and learning to cook the finer things, to the years when family dinners looked like feeding toddlers at a highchair and washing table scraps down with that cold cup of coffee brewed at breakfast.  This was such a fun audio book that came at the perfect time, inspiring me to get re-energized in the kitchen.  One of the little practices I took from Jenny's book was her simple act of writing down what she ate for dinner every single night in a food journal.  She did the practice for ten years and this little food diary became such an interesting part of her family story.  It became a recipe book of the tried and true recipes they made over and over again, a time machine that took her right back to special occasions, dinner conversations, and mundance-turned-magical nights around her table.  Inspired by this, I picked up my own little journal and have been doing a similar practice every night since school started.  After one month of documenting our meals, I was able to reflect on how well we did in the eating-at-home department, remembered great meals I wanted to recreate and make again, and recalled sweet memories shared with others.  Things that stood out from my first month food journal?  Charcuterie nights with the kids, my first commercial acting job at Montage followed by a fun meal with friends, lots of Magnolia recipes conquered and crossed off, and a fun night with a great fall spread with Andrew and Sara.      

Watching: Beau and I just finished the series Big Little Lies on Amazon and it was addicting.  Racy, thrilling, naughty, and completely thought-provoking.  The lineup of talented women in this series is crazy (no pun intended but they're all a little bit crazy) and although Beau likes to tell me I have a lot of similarities with Reese's character, it's Meryl Streep in season 2 that gets my award for the craziest.  I found myself thinking of these characters throughout my day, always a sign of a great story.

Oh and sweet and hilarious Maisel graces us with her presence on December 6.  A Jewish-feast inspired premiere party may be in the works. ;)    

Reading: I've been reading about a book a month it seems and have recently been hitting the jackpot when it comes to really great stories.  While Where the Crawdads Sing goes down as an all-time favorite for this English nerd, I also recently enjoyed Little Fires Everywhere and The Great Alone.  But now, the only book I've got on the brain is Daisy Jones and the Six.  I am actually trying hard not to consume this one in a day because I'm savoring it too much.  The characters, the music, the 1970s era inspiration, etc.  I have officially fallen hard for it all and will wait in quiet anticipation for my next Amazon TV obsession. ;)  

Listening to: So much great listening lately!  New albums by some of my faves - The Head and the Heart, the Lumineers, the Avett Brothers, and our friends, The Talbott Brothers.  We went to see The Head and the Heart with the Shaws last month and had a blast and I've been listening to Honeybee on loop ever since.  Oh, and Leon Bridges - he's the best in the fall.   

Enjoying: tea dates at the Tea Cellar, that new delicious Indian restaurant in town, reading early BOB books with my kindergartener and Harry Potter with Cruz, fall closet clean-outs and all the warm clothes to dress them in every morning before school.  Our first fire in the fireplace, pizza and wine after crazy fall festivals with friends who feel like family, surprise birthday lunches at school with my mom, and a hip hop themed spin ride at Joy Wheel.  Old fashions with orange bitters, my new face wash, Chemex coffee and all my new fall scents.  And Mila's blue converse and denim jacket.  Thanks for the outfit inspiration, Mom!