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In the mornings, my 82 year old BFF Barbara gets her newspaper, walks to her kitchen and brews a cup of coffee.

She takes her cup and newspaper to her sunroom, where she completes the morning crossroad puzzle and reads for about an hour. After being fed by coffee and the morning sun, Barbara walks into her kitchen, takes out a silver platter, and on it, she places a white dish. She puts five almonds, a handful of blueberries, a few baby carrots, grapes, half of a banana, and something green. The green is her least favorite, but according to Barbara, greens are good for you.

In just a few minutes, Barbara prepares a daily feast — and she is her guest.

Throughout the day, she grazes on nutritious foods. At four o’clock, Barbara eats a cookie, and just before she climbs the stairs for bed, Barbara eats one – large- spoon of ice cream. After all Barbara says,

Life is too short, not to have something sweet before bed… at my age, I never know if I will wake in the morning. Each day after eighty, I consider it a Bonus.” 

Unlike Barbara, most of us are not in the position to set out a silver platter because we are busy raising young children and teenagers. As mothers, we forget to feed ourselves, and if your house is anything like mine, as soon as you purchase the week’s groceries, it seems you didn’t shop at all. You have nothing to graze on – and even if you did, little hands and mouths would devour your spread in minutes.

I am not in the silver platter season of my life, but I can still  feed myself.
I put what I like to eat for breakfast, lunch, and snacks on the grocery list. These items are off-limits only because the kids also select the items they want to eat the following week. I don’t touch their Macaroni and cheese, and they don’t touch my Rice Krispies.

At some point, I hope to reach Barbara’s level – where I can set a feast on a silver platter, and graze all day. Until then, I am grateful for the wisdom Barbara passed onto me. I hope that by sharing this story, it will spark a light in your life, and you too will know, its ok to eat a cookie at four pm., and dare I say, eat ONE spoon of ice cream.  After all, “Life is too short, not to have something sweet before bed.”

OH!

***Except on Wednesdays when she has Bible Studies, Barbara indulges in a glass of wine.

Please Share:
What are your rituals?

Kadine

4 Comments

  • Mallory Gardner
    Posted May 4, 2020 at 11:35 pm

    I love Barbara already… can totally see why she would be your bff! love her rituals and you! The only real ritual that I have is enjoying coffee on the screen porch while we do quiet time!

    • Post Author
      Kadinechristie
      Posted May 8, 2020 at 9:35 pm

      I think it’s great to start rituals that feeds us early in life. You are off to a great start, my friend.

  • Judith Robb
    Posted April 18, 2020 at 6:45 pm

    My ritual? Thanks for asking. Each morning begins with pills: One for my thyroid. An hour later one for my acid reflux. Thirty minutes after the last pill, I make a bowl of old-fashion oatmeal with a fresh honeycrisp apple. Once cooked, I add walnuts and cinnamon. This breakfast became my easy-to-fix ritual the day I got my type2 diabetes diagnosis. Then, as I wash the breakfast dishes you’ll hear me belting out the Bee Gees hit: “Stayin’ Alive. Stayin’ Alive” … after all, I’m seventy five!

    • Post Author
      Kadinechristie
      Posted April 18, 2020 at 7:19 pm

      Your response made me laugh out loud friend. Thanks for sharing. Now I know I need a song for 39:-)

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