Sarah happened

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You know those times in life when everything seems to be piling on, coming all at once, one thing after another?  We’re in the middle of one of those times.  A few curveballs thrown our way, some extra stressors, and more than a few tears shed.  Here we are, amidst the ups and downs of life, the ebbs and flows, the peaks and valleys.  Things will calm down and ‘normal’ will return.  But Wednesday was a particularly trying day….. until Sarah happened.

Have I told you about Sarah?  She’s my sister.  Well, not technically a sister; she’s actually a sister-like friend who has been beside me through all things life and love since we were twelve.  For ten years now, she’s lived in Washington, DC, and I in Burlington, Ontario.  Ten years being more than 700kms apart, and I can honestly say that our friendship hasn’t changed much.  We don’t see each other as often, but we’re in touch almost daily, and when we get together it seems we were never apart.

On Wednesday morning, I came home with my kids and found a package at our front door.  Addressed to my daughter, sent by Auntie Sarah, we raced inside and my toddler excitedly opened up her treasure.  And there, inside the box, was a fuzzy pink Build-A-Bear…. wearing glasses.  photo 2-3The note explained that Casey and her new bear can wear their new glasses together; the empathy of a stuffed animal.  For those keeping track, my 2-year-old daughter has just been diagnosed with amblyopia, and will require glasses and daily eye-patching to ‘teach’ her left eye to function.  But Sarah happened.  She’s a plane-ride away and she managed to feel my worry, to support my daughter, to help us out, to make me better.

How do I explain to her the power of her gesture?  How can I convey what that meant to me, what it meant for Casey?  The tenderness she shows my children warms my heart like only family can.  Sarah’s currently pregnant with her first baby, expecting her little boy to arrive in June.  It’s true what they say about a mother’s love, you know… how it’s a love like no other.  She will feel that in June.  And when she’s having a rough day and emotions are running high, I hope I’ll be able to return the favour.  Maybe then she’ll really understand how much it meant that Sarah happened.

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Five Dozen Eggs per Week?!

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My family eats a lot of eggs.   No really, a lot of eggs.  In fact, our family of four (our kids are ages five and two) usually consumes around five dozen eggs per week… about three dozen fresh eggs and two dozen boiled eggs.0025-JPEG

FIVE DOZEN EGGS PER WEEK FOR A FAMILY OF FOUR?!!!  Do I have your attention?

We almost always have eggs for breakfast- either scrambled, boiled, or in egg-sandwich form.  Perhaps some pancakes or some breakfast cookies.  My husband and I have boiled eggs as a snack regularly, and sometimes I even put a raw egg in my Vitamix shake, Rocky-style (gasp!).  Then there’s eggs in our baking, and in cauliflower-fried rice, and well, scrambled eggs is a quick and easy dinner for me when I get home late from work.  Often, that adds up to a weekly five dozen.

The Heart & Stroke Foundation recommends one egg/day.  Aren’t I concerned about cholesterol?  Or fat content?  No and no.  In fact, I feel better than I ever have in my life.

I have completely changed my views on nutrition over the past couple of years, starting with the eye-opening read of the “Wheat Belly” book.  I blogged about that here.  Remember, gluten is pro-inflammtory; inflammation is hard on the heart and the circulatory system, which is the number one factor in heart disease.  Hmmmmm.  I’ve also gradually shifted my diet over to a Paleo-based approach, focusing largely on protein and fat, vegetables and fruit, and eliminating grains.  And I feel better than I ever have in my life.  I’ve learned to listen to my body and pay attention to subtleties in my diet, mood, and well-being.  Gone are the days of low-fat and whole grains, of ‘dieting’ and feeling hungry, of fatigue and sugar crashes, of that stubborn 10 lbs.

I’ve done a lot of reading.  I’ve scoured information here, here, here, here, here, and here.  I’ve heard countless stories from friends and acquaintances about lowered cholesterol, improved well-being, and dumbfounded-by-bloodwork doctors.  And while I’m not a stick-it-to-the-man type or a conspiracy-theorist, I am aware that multi-billion-dollar drug companies fund research and foundations and government programs.

I’m going to go with my gut.  And my gut tells me that I’m making the best choices for my family, eggs and all.

Happy Easter!

Eggs

 

 

 

Do Nothing.

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Some days exhaustion creeps in and I feel worn down and beat up and much older than my 34 years would suggest… but such is life for many of us.  There is little downtime and not much R&R.  Instead, my days begin with barbells and lifting shoes, chalk buckets and timers.  They’re filled with slobbery kisses and walks to the park, cleaning of messes and shuttling to programs, making of lunches and see-you-later hugs.  They end with my work, my patients, my passion.  Life is good.  I have happiness and health and peace of mind.  But life is busy.

I often feel more tired on a Monday than I do on a Friday, after we’ve squeezed in as much family fun as we can on precious weekend days.    If you ask me what I’m up to for the coming weekend, I will often say “not much”, and that’s only a half-truth.  To me, “not much” weekends create a chance to get caught up on family adventures and household chores.  To get caught up on life.  This past weekend’s “not much” turned into Spring yard cleanup, hosting friends, church, hot yoga, and dinner in TO.  Throw in online banking, Summer vacation research, and nursery school paperwork, and there was no sit-down-and-do-nothing time.  Gone are the days of sleeping in, long runs, and leisurely brunches, and here are the days of early-risers, building forts, and playing Lego.  And I wouldn’t have it any other way.  I thrive on tasks to complete and projects to juggle, and I’m far more productive and efficient when time is a factor.  But what I do need to change, what I do need to balance, what I do need to manage is “off time”.  Time where I sit and do… nothing.  And actually enjoy it.

The problem I have, and perhaps many do, is that when I’m doing nothing, I’m thinking about what I could be doing.  What I could be accomplishing.  What I could be checking off my to-do list.  Maybe it’s the planner in me, maybe it’s the mother in me, maybe it’s the ‘Type A’ in me.  What can I say, I’m a first-born female Virgo; it’s my nature.  The guilt creeps in, the mental checklist creeps in, the need to achieve, to perform, to do more creeps in.  So I’m adding a new to-do-list item: do nothing.

What am I up to this weekend?  Not much.  Nothing.

do nothing