4,000 Calories
As I watched Daisy and her friend today burn 4,000 calories running around in the yard, jumping in leaf piles and bouncing on the trampoline, I wondered where my boundless energy went. I can’t remember feeling that energetic. When was the last time I just took off running for the sheer joy of it? There is that vivid memory from when I was about Daisy’s age and I decided to cut off all my bangs – down to the nubbins – and then afterwards ran like a crazy loon through our pasture. I can still feel how amazing it felt to have the breeze on my entire face and to have done something I probably wasn’t suppose to all while caring less how Hare Krishna I looked.
I shared a few jokes with Dan about being old and recognized that my body felt a little tired. It’s not a new feeling – it seems like the last 5 years we are both exhausted at the end of each day. Wondering where my energy has gone, I ponder what our days are made of. And because of this, I had to re- wind my self-slander and take back any envy of childhood boundless energy and adore just how our proverbial 4,000 calories were spent today.
It’s Saturday, so a day at home for us. It begins with Dan tending the pigs and chickens and me preparing food for the humans. By Mid-morning, I begin straining and bottling the fire cider, rosemary tincture, ginger vodka and a cold/flu remedy I had made. Dan worked through the strawberry and asparagus patched, pruning, separating, winterizing before he left to pick up Daisy’s friend Solana for a play-date. I then moved to picking our Indian-summer peppers - jalapenos, serranoes, habaneros, roasters, poblanos, sweet orange, cherry reds and green bells. I cleaned and sorted and roasted and preserved them. Dan returns with kids and a bounty of shaggy mane mushrooms he harvested on the way home and he turns them into an amazing creamy soup with bone broth I had made a few days before. I think of making a sweet potato pie and realize I need to render lard first, so I get busy chopping, frying, straining and jarring up the fresh lard.
There is house cleaning to do and dishes to wash and clothes to fold. There are pictures of beautiful children playing in leaves to take. There is wood to stack. There are friends to email and recycling to sort and load into the truck. There are leaves to rake back up. There is lunch and dinner to make and dogs to love. There are art projects to set up and books to read with Daisy. There is food to preserve. There is my hair to brush … that doesn’t get done until 4pm.
After dinner, while helping Daisy with homework, Dan brings me a hard-pear cider he made from our pears and hops. As it bubbles into my glass, for some reason I think of my fruitful day with my family and am bubbling with gratitude. I did not run circles in the yard or do somersaults in the grass, but I did do exactly what I wanted, as did Dan, as did Daisy. It was full of intention and fulfillment.
The night has ended with Daisy & Dan doing improv in the living room, and I have a quiet moment to myself. Pretty awesome way to spend calories.
I shared a few jokes with Dan about being old and recognized that my body felt a little tired. It’s not a new feeling – it seems like the last 5 years we are both exhausted at the end of each day. Wondering where my energy has gone, I ponder what our days are made of. And because of this, I had to re- wind my self-slander and take back any envy of childhood boundless energy and adore just how our proverbial 4,000 calories were spent today.
It’s Saturday, so a day at home for us. It begins with Dan tending the pigs and chickens and me preparing food for the humans. By Mid-morning, I begin straining and bottling the fire cider, rosemary tincture, ginger vodka and a cold/flu remedy I had made. Dan worked through the strawberry and asparagus patched, pruning, separating, winterizing before he left to pick up Daisy’s friend Solana for a play-date. I then moved to picking our Indian-summer peppers - jalapenos, serranoes, habaneros, roasters, poblanos, sweet orange, cherry reds and green bells. I cleaned and sorted and roasted and preserved them. Dan returns with kids and a bounty of shaggy mane mushrooms he harvested on the way home and he turns them into an amazing creamy soup with bone broth I had made a few days before. I think of making a sweet potato pie and realize I need to render lard first, so I get busy chopping, frying, straining and jarring up the fresh lard.
There is house cleaning to do and dishes to wash and clothes to fold. There are pictures of beautiful children playing in leaves to take. There is wood to stack. There are friends to email and recycling to sort and load into the truck. There are leaves to rake back up. There is lunch and dinner to make and dogs to love. There are art projects to set up and books to read with Daisy. There is food to preserve. There is my hair to brush … that doesn’t get done until 4pm.
After dinner, while helping Daisy with homework, Dan brings me a hard-pear cider he made from our pears and hops. As it bubbles into my glass, for some reason I think of my fruitful day with my family and am bubbling with gratitude. I did not run circles in the yard or do somersaults in the grass, but I did do exactly what I wanted, as did Dan, as did Daisy. It was full of intention and fulfillment.
The night has ended with Daisy & Dan doing improv in the living room, and I have a quiet moment to myself. Pretty awesome way to spend calories.
Sounds like a beautiful and productive day! I'd love to see the video, but it says "private" when I click on it?
ReplyDeleteI miss sharing in those tasks with you, dear friend. Kids underfoot, juggling and attempting conversations inbetween it all. Sometimes the chaos of life is the most beautiful. BTW - looks like I had the settings wrong on the video - I've adjusted it.
DeleteI don't know how you guys do all the things you do in a day! Continually busy, busy. I love the Dan & Daisy's improve. so special!
ReplyDelete