I won't mince words; work has been very busy, and a little bit painful. The timing couldn't be worse but there it is. The other day I looked around my desk and noticed I had surrounded myself with snacks, aka, coping mechanisms? These snacks include so many clemintines and apples, but they also include snacks that allow me to chew to get the angst out without thinking too much about what I'm actually eating, such as rice cakes and twizzlers. You can also often find dried mangoes or cranberries near my desk, and then an occasionally wild card, like last week I had a hankering for some sour cream potato chips that I took the liberty to fulfill.
These photos are from a few weeks ago when we were visiting DC, and we got to have brunch with my sister. This was back in November, so it was the middle of fall, but it was really cold and I remember thinking, where did fall go? It seemed to have lasted for all for three weeks, if that. I came across the excerpt below from my journal the other day, and I must have written it in the midst of that short window.
It's Sunday. I am a mom. (I'm a working mom, so this specificity to a Sunday is relevant.) From the moment I wake up throughout the morning and the afternoon, I only have half the usual amount of attention as I tie my hair, put on my clothes, wash my face. The other half is concerned with where she is, what she is doing, responding to her fragmented sentences - confirming, yes, yes, oh isn't that great, no don't touch that honey.
She goes down for a nap after a lunch of peas, shrimp and pasta. Dessert is grapes, which she loves and she flashes me the sweetest smiles and grins in between bites. I like it, mom. She goes down like a little angel, which isn't always the case, and asks me if I'm going to come back when she wakes up. I will, baby, I will be here.
I go downstairs and make a plate of roasted broccoli and my grill master husband has grilled up steaks for us. I pour myself a glass of wine, a Malbec from a local winery, and we sit in front of football on TV. I don't watch it, I'm reading, but I like the background noise of football. I can see the glow of orange outside the window and it smells like leaves baking in the sun. It feels like fall and I'm comforted, wedged in the moment and in my memory of all the falls that came before, of orange glows and slow Sunday afternoons.
Now that it's winter (or almost there. It's crazy that we are still not officially in winter yet), it seems appropriate that I should be reading more, but the sad truth is that I'm reading so much less. The busy work life, the decrease of energy and the busy season are all contributors, but I did finish reading Emily of New Moon, the other week. It's the first of a three part series written by L.M. Montgomery, whom I love very much for her Anne of Green Gables series. I always thought I had already read the Emily series, but when I was reminded of them and looked through it again, I realized I never had. Reading this book reminds me of my childhood, in the best of ways.
Here's one of my favorite excerpts from the first book,
"There was a sudden rift in the curdled clouds westward, and a lovely, pale, pink-green lake of sky with a new moon in it...It would hurt her with it's beauty until she wrote it down. "
I started in on the second one, Emily Climbs, but I also started a new book, My Brilliant Friend, by Elena Ferrante, which I am very excited about. I have heard great things about this writer (and this is another three part series!) and so far, I'm very intrigued. I will let you know my thoughts if and when I get through this one!
I'll take us out with a few more photos from brunch. We ate at Highlands and enjoyed the casual atmosphere and their shrimp and grits.
I thank God every night for this mans' warm sleeping body next to mine in bed. Because I love him, but also because I need the extra warmth in the winter.
My lovely sister. The older that I get, the more I wish my sisters and I lived in the same city.
She was in an extremely goofy mood and this was the best picture of us I could get.
My spirited (and very bundled up) girl, who is my ray of sunshine during these cold months.
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