Where has April Gone?

I was amazed today when someone asked me the date and I had to tell them, "the 20th." Where has April gone? It seems like just yesterday we were returning to school after spring break. Now we are down to 30 days of school left before the lazy summer begins. At the beginning of the month, I was committed to writing more, trying out some poetry, doing some written reflection about my reading. I've done very little of any of it. I've managed a few entries in my writer's notebook and one lonely post for April on my blog. I truly envy my literary friends and mentors who find time to write every day...and I wonder how they manage to make it happen. I know they are every bit as busy as me (if not more so.) I'm uneasy with how quickly the days pass by. I sometimes wonder if moving so quickly through life, doing so many things, is not nearly as meaningful or fulfilling as having a few things I really love doing and to do them fully and completely. I wish for a little more simplicity and peace to enjoy what's happening in the moment.

In the Zone

 I'm exceptionally proud of myself this afternoon. Yesterday, like most Sundays, I had too many things on my to-do list. My biggest concern was the fact that I bought ingredients for, and planned meals around, a big, steamy pot of homemade marinara sauce. Which did not come to fruition yesterday. It's funny how stressed that one little thing made me last night. I was stressed about wasting food. I was stressed about the lack of nutrtion in the greasy pizza we ended up ordering for dinner. I was stressed about not being able to take a day off today to de-stress.

But as I said, I'm exceptionally proud of myself. After a full day of work, I left school at 4 and stopped at the grocery store. Once home, I immediately began my cooking frenzy. I finely chopped my own onion in less than a minute. Although I did not achieve a "fine dice" with the other veggies,  I did all the prep work without Sous Chef Dax who is usually my go-to guy for all things sliced and diced. I was in a zone...effective, efficient. If every evening could be like this, maybe I really could feed the family more healthy, home-cooked meals during the week. Then again, I haven't folded laundry, or watered the plants, or unloaded the dishwasher...but for just a few minutes I'm giving myself permission to write about, and revel in, my culinary accomplishments!