Ramblings---Toward the end of May I got bronchitis which made it a bit taxing to walk to work. Luckily my work is not far from home so it was survivable. When I was on the mend I needed throat lozenges to help keep me from coughing while walking and one day I started coughing soon after I put in the throat lozenge. The lozenges did such a good job of keeping my throat from getting dry they caused my mouth to generate too much saliva and that made me cough. For some reason it made me giggle to think of the irony of choking on a throat lozenge---luckily I didn't giggle too much or I would have choked...

Since getting a part-time job my existent appreciation for women who work has deepened. My job involves a small number of hours each day but I still find it challenging to get everything done. It seems it is getting harder for me to pack my days full. I should just take the same approach to packing my days as I do to packing a suitcase. I usually fit everything I need and a few things I want into my suitcase. However, when packing I usually take a lot of things I don't need. Do I do that when packing my days? Yes. (I didn't have to think about that for long at all)

 By the way, walking to work is quite delightful. We miss a lot when we drive.

Yesterday I ate a perfectly ripe pear. Before I ate the pear I tried another pear that I thought was ripe but as soon as I started peeling it I knew I was wrong. It was crunchy. Crunchy is good in apples but not so much in pears. Anyway, I was musing about how when we pick a fruit that isn't ripe we are disappointed but we usually don't blame the fruit. We realize it was an error in our judgement that made us pick the fruit before it was ready to meet our expectations. But when it comes to people if they are disappointingly under-ready we tend to blame the person without thinking it could be an error in our judgement in expecting them to be perfect. Something to think about...

I have decided yet again to try and develop a healthier relationship with food. Perhaps I have mentioned before that I have more than one sweet tooth and I sometimes eat like a garbage disposal. I am always going to start eating better tomorrow but then tomorrow turns into Monday and Mondays are lousy days to start diets so that turns into the next day or maybe the day after whatever holiday is approaching...You get the picture. I know at my age I am embarking on an uphill battle when trying to lose weight but I am tired of bulges. Jiggling is fun when it comes to Jello but not when it comes to one's body.

I define a healthy relationship with food as one in which I do not think of food as my best friend, my confidante, my designated driver (as in motivator), my drug of choice, my crutch, my comfort---or my tormentor, but I think of it as fuel. Food enlivens and invigorates. Eating is one of the most pleasurable uses of our senses and seeing  food for what it really is doesn't mean we can't fully enjoy it. So I am trying to make wise choices and give my body what it needs to perform at its optimum level. I am eating less and exercising more. I am going to try and take the time to really get to know the food I eat. I will be a thinking eater but be careful not to over-think---if that makes even a tiny bit of sense. I want to savor and appreciate food and it is easier to do that if I go for quality and not quantity.

My daughter found a great quote that says something like this---If hunger isn't the problem then food isn't the answer---I need to repeat that to myself frequently.

Enough about my weaknesses---I scrubbed my kitchen floor today, emptied a bag of dog food (that was in the way) into the dog food bin, vacuumed and dusted, polished cabinets and counters---and all of that mostly before noon. Household chores can be very cathartic. We make things clean, smooth, shiny---we straighten, fold, and tuck...everything in its place. Housework is good because we can see immediate results (again and again). Now there are all of those other areas like improving my skills, mothering, being a good wife, doing family history, being a good friend and neighbor, working on goals -those big ongoing projects that crowd around me breathing down my neck reminding me they need attention---I think I will go iron. Then I can hang up all of the nicely pressed items and feel accomplished while trying not to think of all the wrinkles that still need to be ironed out...

Like is truly good