Interrupted

My Life Thus Far
2015-10-22 08:22:46 (UTC)

Who Am I To Supersede?

I read somewhere that it's impossible to make up for lost sleep. It's not something our bodies can bank for later. While that may be true, I know when I go long periods of time not getting quite enough, eventually (when I finally have the chance) my body takes advantage of a long uninterrupted stretch of deep, restorative sleep. I slept just shy of 12 hours last night. I didn't feel exceptionally tired, but my body said otherwise. I missed the entire morning, in my blissful slumber. When I finally woke naturally (on my own accord) it was 12:41pm, and Snookums was getting ready to leave for work (he closed tonight). I was a little bummed about sleeping away half the day, but if my body needed it, who am I to supersede?

I had enough time to run out and grab some groceries before the kids got home from school. I got the idea to make Ruth (and family) the potato white bean soup I make all the time. Usually when someone is trying to get sick. It's a light veggie based broth with potatoes, carrots, cannellini beans, Swiss chard, spinach, kale, and lots of herbs and spices. It's simple and good. Very comforting. Something even meat eaters can enjoy. And since my babies have a sweet spot for sweets, I figured we could make some peanut butter chocolate chunk cookies, too. We took two dozen next door and kept some for ourselves.

It was so much fun spending time in the kitchen with Kiki and Keenan. Really, it's one of my favorite things to do with them. They washed and peeled 5 pounds of potatoes, two pounds of carrots, and helped me anyway they could, with zero complaints. Keenan loves reading recipes and working on his measuring (he's learning fractions in school). I miss having more quality time with them. So, when we get to hang out, I relish every moment. After everything was cooked and packaged up, we took it next door. Since Ruth just had surgery yesterday, we didn't stay. Just dropped it off. I hope Ruth doesn't feel like she owes me anything once she's recovered. I didn't do this because I feel obligated, or because I want recognition. I felt compelled to do it, and I want to be of service to others if I can. It felt good, and that's enough reward. I hope my kids learn something about compassion and helping others while they're helping me. Keenan told me tonight that I'm kind. It was such a nice thing for him to say. It felt like the biggest compliment, hearing my sweet, compassionate little boy tell me that I'm kind. I swear, he breaks my heart in the best possible way.

Last week Ruth asked me if she could talk with me more about veganism. I suspect it has something to do with her health. While the core foundation of veganism is for the welfare of animals and the end of inhumane animal agriculture, I'd be lying if I didn't say I initially went vegan for my health. Because I did. And it's a huge proponent as to why I've stayed vegan. I can't go back now that I know all I know, but the original motivation wasn't the animals. If I can get other people to try going vegan for selfish reasons (like I did), perhaps after reaping some of the benefits, they'll realize how liberating and awesome of a lifestyle it is. I've never felt better mentally, physically, emotionally. I feel like I'm finally living the life I was meant to live. I'm contributing the least amount of pain and suffering on the planet (the animals, humanity, etc) as humanly possible. Unless I completely go off grid. But even then, not eating animals or contributing to animal suffering is the most eco-friendly move you can make. I would love to mentor more people towards a vegan life. If only they'd let me...

I don't know what I'm doing tomorrow, but I need to be getting to bed so I don't sleep half of it away (like I did today)!




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