It
began innocently enough.
A
few days ago, in the evening, I was in the kitchen and considering
the next day. Lunch and dinner and what should I take out of the
freezer.
Normally,
I’m pretty simple when cooking for myself. Sometimes I’ll get
motivated to put together a deeply involved meal, from a salad
to two vegetables to a main dish that has some type of separate
sauce. Other times I’m working hard to find the desire to bring
soup to a boil. But either way, whatever I find in the fridge
or pantry or even sitting on the counter can move me in one direction
or another.
Not
that night.
Nothing
was standing out as something I wanted to do.
Then
another random thought struck me, about a friend that I had been
exchanging texts with recently. It had been a bit since we’d last
caught up in person, and it didn’t look like our schedules would
match up for yet a bit longer. Still, sent a text… “What do you
have planned for lunch tomorrow?”… and a response settled everything.
I
went out for lunch and spent a couple of hours with a good friend.
Two birds… friend and meal… no cooking. And thanks to some tasty
leftovers, it was a few days before I needed to face the freezer
again.
Are
there things you find yourself not that motivated to do? Wash
the dishes? Vacuum and dust? Call your mom?
Pretty
sweet when you can combine a few and cover a lot of ground all
at once.
For
a variety of reasons, personal and professional, I find myself
in a different state when it comes to many members of family and
friends. You’d think that thanks to technology… texts and e-mails
and running into fewer long-distance charges… connecting would
be easy enough.
It’s
not.
Coming
out of college I sent many letters every week. While arguably
easier to send a social media message, I find myself often further
from contact today than I was while using stamps because they
were the best option. I don’t think anyone is really to blame
for it, just everyday schedules putting it to the side.
I’m
here today to tell you… send the text and go out to lunch. Make
the time. Take the steak out of the freezer even if you aren’t
feeling today like baking potatoes and stirring up a batch of
horseradish cream to go along with the meal tomorrow.
I
went on a trip to take care of some dogs recently. Spent about
a week at the house. Didn’t think that having two dogs shove me
around on the bed and wake me up every couple of hours would make
me smile as much as it did.
There’s
something positive in even the smallest of actions. Something
about moving in the right direction that can lift your spirits.
So,
write to a friend and make plans for lunch. Head outside and clear
out the garden. Find some things you’ve been meaning to do and
do them. (And, call your mom. She worries. (And she means well.))