Simple Joys of the Week, November 24th Edition

Since I was en route back to DC yesterday--and soaking up the last few moments with my family before leaving--I wasn't able to get to a computer to share my SJOTW. So, I figured I would do so this morning, because better late than never, right? 

Here are some of the simple, sensory pleasures that I was able to enjoy over the past (difficult) 7 days. A great reminder that even when life is harder than usual, there are still lots of truly beautiful moments to be had...

Hear: "Life is Eternal" by Carly Simon

One of the interesting parts of the process of dying slowly--and dying with the knowledge that you are dying--is that you get to plan your entire funeral or memorial service. My stepmom, Anita, was able to do this over the past few years, and thus, the service that we held for her on Tuesday was a beautiful expression of who she was, what was important to her, and how she touched others. The following song, "Life is Eternal" by Carly Simon, is a song that she chose to be sung at her service. We had an amazing singer perform this song with my brother, Peter, accompanying her on the Djembe (an African Drum of which my family is a big fan), and it was an extremely special moment that was one of the most moving parts of the service. Every time that I hear this song from now on, I'll think of celebrating Anita's life, her spirit, and her love. You can hear Simon's original version of the song, below:

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See: Family

By now, you probably know how much family means to me. So, not surprisingly, it was wonderful to spend the past week with them. My brothers, their girlfriends, my aunt and uncle, cousins, great aunt, and grandmother were all around for the majority of my time at home, and it was extremely healing and special to spend so much time with them. We were all able to mourn our loss together, but also celebrate Anita's life and our love for one another together, which was very meaningful. Sure, we all drove each other a little crazy, too, but I believe that's very normal ;) My favorite family moment of the week? Playing in the "Starr Bowl" together--a 5-on-5 touch football game on Thanksgiving morning. And yes, my team won! Woot woot!

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Taste: Thanksgiving Dinner

Obviously, eating Thanksgiving Dinner was a major sensory experience this week. My brother, Peter, and his girlfriend, Jocelyn (pictured with the oven mit, above), volunteered to cook almost the entire meal, which was fabulous for people like me, who got to do a whole lot of relaxing, instead (which was much-needed by Thursday!). We had WAY too much food and a "16-hour turkey," as we like to call it, but it was all simply delicious. My two favorite dishes this year? The homemade cranberry sauce--which was much more tart than usual (such a nice change from the super sweet variety)--and the homemade pecan pie. YUM. Oh, and in case you were wondering, yes, we did make 12lbs of mashed potatoes, also pictured in the photo collage above. No, we did not eat all of it ;)

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Smell: Pumpkin Pie baking in the oven...

When we got back to DC at 7pm last night, Ben and I went on a quick trip to the grocery store to pick up a few things. While on this trip, we realized that neither of us ever enjoyed a piece of pumpkin pie while home for Thanksgiving. Unacceptable! So, at 9pm last night, I whipped up 2 pumpkin pies. Let me caveat this by saying that this is probably the only time you'll ever hear me use this phrase "whipped up" about a food item, as I'm not much of a cook or a baker, but pumpkin pie is one of the very few things that I've gotten used to making and feel comfortable "whipping up" (not surprisingly, pumpkin pie is also one of the easiest pies to make!). Anyways, when we enjoyed a piece at 11pm, it was totally worth the late-night work--even if it was still really hot (and not ready to be eaten). Hooray for pumpkin!

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Touch: Long walks in the GA sun, fall leaves, and cool breeze

One of the fun parts of going back to GA for the holidays is that it's always a whole lot warmer in ATL than it is in DC.  Ben and I soaked up the sun by spending lots of time outdoors with my family while at home. My Dad and I went on a long-ish walk every single day (and sometimes, we went on more than one per day!), while Ben and my brothers threw the football, the frisbee, went on a run, or on some occassions, joined us. As you can see from the picture to the left, there were leaves ALL OVER The ground, and we took our cameras with us on all of our walks in order to snap pictures of the beautiful colors, sights, and moments. I've become quite the avid walker these days, and look forward to continuing this tradition now that I'm back home...


So there you have it. What brought you joy over the past week? Take some time to reflect, if you haven't already, as it's a great way to continue the theme of gratitude way past Thanksgiving.

I hope your weekend is FULL of the simple pleasures in life--deep breaths, cool, crisp air, lots of belly laughs, warm tea, cuddling by the fire, and bites of pumpkin pie ;)

Namaste!
Mary Catherine

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