September Nourishment

As this first month of school quickly comes to an end and October looms over the orange horizon, my mind keeps turning to comfort. I’m still adjusting to getting up early, cooler mornings, and the rapid pace of the school day. There is no time to slow down.  I run until I’m exhausted, but there must be a better way. My younger colleagues look to me for sage advice.  How do I put work/life balance into practice? My answer: very haphazardly. I sporadically start my days with meditation, yoga, and a mid-morning cup of tea alone in my cozy office.  But in reality, an endless, growing to-do list keeps me frantically trying to check things off, feeling more and more like Sisyphus.  One day that giant boulder is sure to crush me, and I cannot let that happen!

It is time to regroup, step back, and step away from all the problems and deadlines.  I think about how I can start my day on a brand-new footing. What is the one thing that might help me slow down and work calmly and intentionally?  The solution I find is small, warm, and comforting: the beautifully simple egg. When I was a little girl, I spent many a weekday morning with my maternal grandfather, Charlie.  While everyone was rushing around getting ready for school or work, Grandpa Charlie would be in his kitchen making me soft-boiled eggs with crushed saltines slathered with butter.  I’d sit at the table inhaling the pot of coffee Charlie had in his cup and patiently wait for my beautiful bowl of eggs.  It was a wonderful start to our day together.  We’d sit together peacefully, enjoying our eggs, and once nourished, we were ready for the chores ahead: the bank, the post office, the grocery store, and the park, all before noon.

Wanting to return to that peaceful mindset, I’ve decided to start my day with eggs.  I will get up a half hour early and make myself a nourishing breakfast to sustain me through my day.  The work will still be there.  The problems will keep on mounting. But instead of feeling worn and frazzled with just a cup of coffee procured from the bagel store on the way to work, I will have made myself a warm and comforting egg concoction.  I will have started my day by taking care of myself.  And like all of my grand ideas, I will memorialize it with a poem.