For weeks I have had an idea percolating in my head for an encouraging essay on How to Carry On that might infuse life and inspiration into my readers’ day.
I keep starting and stopping, writing short stories about meeting new friends at the park, reading on the couch to the sound of rain, feeling entirely unprepared to teach the story of Noah and then seeing the engaged faces of my listeners, and discovering that in Spain we don’t sell out of toilet paper in a global emergency, we sell out of sunflower and olive oil. We got phished and spent a lot of time on the phone and in lines at the policía and the bank but also just being thankful that it could have been so much worse. But none of these things was a whole essay, just sentences that comprise life right now.
I found a bag of gluten free panko break crumbs, so I’ve been using that precious sunflower oil to make thin-sliced, breaded chicken cutlets, which the kids think is the most gourmet, delicious food they’ve ever tasted.
We reward ourselves with a coffee and a pastry at our friends’ coffee shop every time we run an errand. There are always a lot of errands, aren’t there? And we just keep running them, day in and day out, and some of them yield a special kind of joy, like putting a new houseplant in the grocery cart, choosing the wine based on the label (you can do that when they’re all €4), or dropping in an extra bar of dark chocolate.
This month I also bought, in sets of three, Things War Refugees Might Need, like diapers, wipes, feminine supplies, and toothpaste, because the kids earned a point for every three things they brought in and every point was an entry to a drawing to throw a pie at the principal! Talk about joy for an eight year old boy.
On Tuesday I roasted a whole chicken and it was delicious. Yesterday I made chicken broth and granola, We might entertain the visiting parents of an international student, sneak in a daytime taco date in Madrid
Perhaps the way to carry on is to just… carry on.
“This is the first point to be made: and the first action to be taken is to pull ourselves together. If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things—praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts—not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They may break our bodies (a microbe can do that) but they need not dominate our minds.”
C.S. Lewis, from his essay “On Living in an Atomic Age”
A Small Way to Help Ukraine
I set up a party for the Month of March. I hope you’ll shop my link so that I can donate ALL my commission (over 25% of sales) to this Ukraine Crisis Fund, which will directly support my friends Caleb and Christina, who serve in Odessa, and their national partners in Ukraine and Moldova who are assisting war refugees. If shipping gives you hives, I’m glad to send you a free shipping code if you’re part of my Ethical Fashion group on Facebook! Perhaps you can pick out some gifts for Easter, Mother’s Day, or a graduate in your life. You’ll be supporting me, Ukrainian war refugees, and our amazing artisan partners around the world!
World Central Kitchen is a lovely charity that was started by a Spanish chef! They travel to places facing crises and partner with restaurants and suppliers to feed people real, fresh, hot food.
Move With Me!
A few years ago I found a sarcastic sayings sign at a kitschy shop while on a girls’ weekend in Lummi Bay and snapped a picture. At the time, it described me perfectly. In college I tried a “body sculpting” class and it was so hard! I cannot do even one tricep dip, much less 12.
But over the years I’ve done a few challenges with the Balanced Life and they are always doable, enjoyable, and my favorite part, quick enough. Since becoming a member, I exercise so much more consistently. I’m still more of a pie and lattes girl though: the best part for me is that most workouts end just before I start to say to myself, “I’ve had enough of this!” In March we’ll be doing a 5-day challenge and I hope you’ll join me.
Are you carrying on? Comment to tell me how.