I was going to share a recipe today, but as Annie Dillard says, It is no less difficult to write sentences in a recipe than sentences in Moby Dick. Right now I don’t want to write about food, so the recipe can wait.
I want to nourish those who’ve stopped by mamaguru.com, but today I will feed your spirit instead of your belly.
Lately I have just been utterly intoxicated with the glory of being alive and the potential for abundant happiness in the world.
Can I share this? Is it contagious?
I hope so.
I woke this morning at 5 am. I should have risen. I knew that. My mind buzzed with thought which always brings my body to a consciousness that causes tension in my shoulders and jaw if I just lazy around. But I lingered in hopes that a little boy would sneak into my bed for a cuddle. These days my sons are so busy executing grand ideas and creating elaborate imaginary worlds, it is hard to get a hug that lasts. Kisses on the fly are all I can catch.
Just before six a tiny figure crept into the center of our bed. Max. That’s his spot. Jack always takes my right side. Bony little Max snuggled for a while and I got to experience my favorite part of motherhood, just loving him. He crawled up to my face after about ten minutes to kiss me and return to his bed. Like I said, kisses on the fly.
I rose not long after and went on a morning run. It was dark when I left the house. I was tired, but I committed to double exercises sessions, so it was best to get one done early. I travelled north, then west, then south, and finally ran the last six blocks straight into a pink and purple sunrise which lead me home. I timed it perfectly. Mocking birds and parrots chirped, cheering my wobbly legs onward. Bamboo trees rustled and creaked in the spring breeze. I spotted baby mangos popping out of blossoms in my favorite trees.
Life is good.
And what else besides a sunrise, a birdsong, and fruit-bearing trees awaits encounter this day?
Music to bring back happy memories, a great book to finish, amazing ideas to sprout, a pool where I can swim a mile, a carefree afternoon with friends, sunshine, a blue sky, good food to eat, a lover to return home at the end of it all who will stay for the next two days….
In between I will work. I will clean. I will cook. I will take care of my children (which means something different everyday).
But it will be glorious because I know how to turn on the radio during my commute; I checked out a good book from the library; I meditate; I committed to transforming my body; I called a friend and hatched a plan; I turn my eyes upward every chance I get; I took the time to learn how to cook and bought groceries two days ago; I searched high and low to find my true love and work hard to nurture our relationship.
Happiness is a choice. A choice we make continuously on a moment to moment basis.
I don’t have a perfect life. I have a regular life.
Did you catch that?
I have a life.
What an extraordinary gift it is to have a regular old life. You have one too! As my friend Mary says,
Make it a good one.
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