If the past few years and a cancer diagnosis have taught me anything, the simple things are really the big things. There are too many to count: getting to sit outside for a moment between meetings, making your destination just in time for the thunderstorm. A sale on your favorite pint of ice cream, making silly jokes with a friend over text and laughing until your cheeks hurt. When the big stuff is precarious, the little stuff is even more important – and that’s what today’s post is all about.
Eat: I love the zing of fresh lemon. I’ll put a slice or a squeeze into my water, add some to sauteed spinach, or put a bit of zest on a dessert. I’ll admit that they’re a bit of a pain to keep fresh, and when I go to use them it’s often well past their ideal time. Enter: the “keep ’em in water” trick. I learned this from social media (where else?) and have used it to great success. Here’s what to do: take a large container like a gallon-sized mason jar and add your lemons inside. Then fill the container with water – enough to cover the lemons inside entirely. And voila! Your lemons will keep for much longer. I haven’t quite tested the limits yet, but it looks like you’re in for a much better deal than letting that bag from the grocery store turn on your fridge shelf.
See: With a new month and the start of a new season, it’s worthwhile to take a look at your calendar. Consider how you can plan for a better month or two ahead. Perhaps it’s really hectic and full of commitments: can you schedule yourself as an appointment and take some time to do whatever you please? If it’s open and you’re craving connection, text a friend or loved one and plan to FaceTime, get together for a walk, or even plan a weekend to do a staycation together.
Do: Re-read one of your favorite childhood books. Was it something that was read aloud to you? Your first chapter book? A series that transported you into a different world? It’s amazing to see what years will add to your perspective and honestly really cool to see what details stuck with you and which were lost by way of not understanding or forgetting. Books allow us to remember not only the stories that were important to us, but the people that we were when we read them and often the other important people that shared them with us: the friends who would gush about the same series, the grandparent who gifted us the copy.
Have a citrusy, planned, nostalgic weekend,
Christina
