R is for Resilient

I've been away.  And by that, I don't mean that I've been traveling.  Wouldn't that be exciting?  Nope.  I mean that I've allowed myself to become fully consumed by my work as a teacher and my responsibilities as a student at UVA (again).  What started back in September as a feeling of regular busyness has spiraled out of control.  I haven't been paying enough attention to myself nor have I saved time for my most favorite hobby.

For those readers and friends who've always wondered if Peter and I "really do eat like that," the answer is yes.  Or, well, we used to.  I used to cook at least three nights per week and spend hours in the kitchen on weekends when I tackled larger projects such as making pasta or painting sugar cookies.  I loved it.

I still cook to put dinner on the table, but things have felt different over the past few months.  We've eaten some nice meals and I've prepared some old favorites, but I feel like my creativity and energy have been "used up" at school before I ever make it home.  I haven't been keeping my camera in the kitchen and sometimes I avoid my laptop for a few days at a time.  I haven't been reading my favorite blogs or sticking post-it notes all over my cookbooks!  My kitchen hasn't served as my place of solitude.  Frankly, no place has.

For lack of better words, I'm in a funk.

I know that things will improve gradually.  Maybe working conditions will become less stressful as the year continues or perhaps I'll just become more capable of handling the burden, but I know I'm on the way back up.  I am resilient and strong.  Hardy and irrepressible!  And I vow to make time for myself and my own interests this winter.  I'm going to can jams and conserves.  I want to make a sourdough starter and create loaves of sourdough bread.  I'll bake pieces of gingerbread to build a house and whip up my own royal frosting.  I'm going to make pumpkin granola and jalapeño stuffing, peppermint bark and carrot soup.  I will!  Not because it's on my to-do list or because anyone is expecting me to, but because I want to and because I love it.

"Doing what you love is the cornerstone of having abundance in your life."  - Wayne Dyer