Renewal

PHOTOS: Mary van Balen I have fallen into some bad habits: Eating too much junk food; staying up late; skipping exercise; watching tv; missing prayer time and blog posts. I am not sure what precipitated my “fall.” Splurging on some Easter treats and then not being able to stop? Grocery shopping when I was hungry and buying comfort foods I should have passed by? Weeks of almost incessant rain; Odd work hours?

Whatever the causes, I have paid for the slips with inability to fall asleep, restless nights, and an couple of added pounds. Headaches and lethargy often follow my bouts of sweets eating and those have made an appearance as well.

A friend of mine who struggles with weight issues said when she slips off her regimen and eats too much of the things she shouldn’t, she tells herself, “Today is a new day,” and gets back on track.

Well, today is my new day. First, the weather cooperated and I woke (after a few hours of poor sleep) to a beautiful sunny morning. The temperature was cool, 40F or so, but I love that. I opened doors and blinds and flooded the house with light.

Next I began playing Pavarotti’s Greatest Hits, started making two loaves of bread using white whole wheat, milled flax seed, and unbleached white flour. Following an old Tassajara Bread Book recipe: making a sponge first, then adding the oil, salt, and additional flour and let the Kitchen Aid Mixer do its kneading while I washed a few days worth of dishes.

When the dough was ready I placed it in an oiled bowl, covered it, placed it on a wooden TV tray by a window in the sun and left to walk to the bank and other errands while the dough raised in the sun and to the strains of La Boheme.

I noticed tiny light green oak leaves, shining with a bit of red on their tips and bags of mulch that had been waiting for a sunny day to be spread on gardens.

Back home, the dough was ready to be formed into loaves and put into bread pans to raise again. I fixed salad to eat with tomatoes and crackers, read the paper, and enjoyed the music.
An hour later two loaves of bread sat on the counter and I prepared to take a warm loaf and some real butter to my dad at the nursing home.

Today is a new day. I am sure I will slip into jags of eating potato chips and drinking cola. I will not always turn off the TV and give myself an hour or so of quiet before bed, but I will try.

Easter has come. Spring is here. And, like the robin babies in the nest on my garage, or the goslings I saw in the parking lot by work, I am ready for a new start!