Catching up and the simple joys...

Sometimes we can be running, running, running, and it seems to stress us out even more to find times to rest.  I found myself running on E on Friday, and I just started to shut down. 

"And He said to them, 'Come away by yourselves to a lonely place and rest for a while.'  For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat."  Mark 6:31

Likewise, Psalm 23 gives us a beautiful image of God leading us to a restful place.  The imagry in the passage alone makes you want to get a cool tall glass of lemonade and start chillaxing in a hammock with the sun streaming down on you.  Hmmmm....

Life has been busy, but joyfully busy.

Last week I attended a very nice Younglife Banquet to celebrate and raise funds for Montgomery County Younglife.  There were a few sudden surprises thrown my way, but it turned out to be a great evening, reconnecting with friends across the county who support the ministry, and being part of something I believe in so much.  Younglife has, is, and will continue to change lives, and I am blessed to be a part of it.  Not only that but I got to hang out with some of my kid's parents, and I got a graduation gift for the baby sister, Rock Climbing for me and the boy, and a 1.5 hour date with a massage therepist around the corner from my house.  Mhmmmm....  Lovin it.

Friday was my day.  That was the day I shut down.  Cancelled my plans.  I picked up sushi, and watched the Flyers v. Penguins game with my roommate.  I did not even make it to the third period of the game because I went to bed around 9:30.  It was glorious.

After a much needed 10 hours of sleep, I trudged out of bed for some breakfast with some wonderful women from my chuch (and an adorable little man who joined us!).  Then I spent most of the rest of the day cleaning out and organizing the storage room.  It was tedious, messy, and frustrating at times, but at the same time there is so much peace that comes from cleaning up and clearing out space - I loved it.  I went to softball practice and then to Kev's parent's house for some out of town family, working on a car, and dinner.

Yesterday I started the Daniel fast, and that was pretty much the biggest accomplishment of my day.  It was quite a low-key weekend, and it was so wonderful to have a low-key weekend after all the business and craziness lately!  Now, I just need to make it through this wonderful week with pedicures, weeding, Younglife Club, and then Charlottesville for a friend's wedding this weekend!  Whooop!

Pictures from my recent busy-ness:



Easter creations!  Tim, Kev, and I made Peep sushi, found on Pinterest over Easter weekend.  So cute, fun to make, and deleriously sugary.  Yum!



Carousel Rogues - Friday night on the town with roomie, boyfriend, and YL friends.  What a great time!

Yep... he already has a girlfriend?  Not a big surprise...

Wyeth and Kev on our Saturday Virginia day.  This was at the winery just enjoying fun, sun, wine, and family.  What could be better?

The Mango Life Lessons

I think my love affair with Mangos started when I was in high school.  I was looking for a nice refreshing snack at Wawa one day, and they had a fruit cup of Mango chunks.  Now, up until this point, I didn't recall having a life-changing experience of enjoying a mango - although I find it hard to believe the first time I had a mango was when I was 15.  But the moment I tasted those sugary fruity cubes, I knew I was in love. 

A decade later, Mangos still are one of my favorite fruits.  They are sweet - but not so sweet - and have a tropicy flava to them.  When you get them chunked they are great!  It didn't take long for my Wawa mango chunks to progress to Rita's mango water ice (YES- WUDDER ICE - I am from Philly afterall...).  It then progressed to Trader Joe's Frozen Mango Chunks - an alltime favorite dessert. 

But the problem has always been that I don't know how to really eat a real mango.  I have picked them up at the grocery store before.  They are bigger than an apple, and although I usually dig around for the ripest ones, they are still tough and have a giant pit inside.  I have had countless experiences of coming home with a mango, getting out the knives and going to town.  (Usually this process requires an abundance of paper towels, maybe a newspaper covering on the kitchen table, and near catostrophic incidents regarding a finger and the knife.  I have actually switched to the little plastic butter knives because I have grown attached to my fingers after a few decades with them, but it only seems to make the task harder.)  At the end of this ordeal I am usually left with a large mess, sticky mango juice up to my elbows and on my face, and an amount of mango meat which is unproportionate to the work and labor invested.  But even though it is difficult, I always grin at the end as I cut up and enjoy the few peices of mango I was able to salvage. 

The funny thing is, that I always get frustrated when opening the mango.  But in a weird way, I really enjoy the process.

But I say this all, because in the last week I have learned a lot from my mangos.  My Egyptian friend Ezzat had been telling me about the Mangos they used to eat back in Egypt, and it started my stomach yearning for a good mango.  I shared my problems with Ezzat that I always struggle to open them, and he told me it was so easy!  So I figured buy a mango.  Take it to work.  Learn how to open it easily.  BRILLIANT!

I came in last week, prepared to learn how to open my mango in a clean and easy way.  - it did not work out that way.  With an audience of my fellow co-workers, Ezzat explained to me that what I had purchased was not a Mango.  I argued with him, that yes it was.  I even showed him the little produce sticker that said very clearly "M-A-N-G-O."  Well the two of us went to town on that mango.  It was a struggle - as I had always experienced.  There were moments of sheer comedy as we bantered back and forth and Ezzat in his heavy accent says "That is NOT a mango.  Never in my life have I done THAT to a mango!"  About 15 minutes in, my co-worker was laughing at both of us, and I found myself in a familiar situation - covered in sticky mango juice, with very little mango fruit to enjoy.  But I cleaned up my mess, and went on with my day.




What do you think?  It looks like a Mango, right?  

 
But Friday I went to Sam's Club with my friend, puppers' mom.  It was a lot of fun to just catch up, take it easy, and get a few things for a bridal shower (pictures of which will be posted soon).  But while we were there, I found a crate of mangos.  But these mangos looked different than the mangos I always bought at the grocery store.  Excited to bring them to Ezzat and see if THIS was the mango he was talking about, I swiped a crate immediately, anxious to give my sweet mangos another shot.

Well, today Ezzat and I dissected the new mangos.  I prepped my workstation for the mess, and Ezzat and I sat down to break into the mango.  I did exactly what Ezzat said, and within 5 minutes I had a clean workstation, sliced mango, and actually had some of the mango meat to enjoy! 

So, now that yo uheard the long-winded story, I bet you are curious about how that led to my life lesson of the day?

I realized, that without Ezzat, I never would have realized how easy enjoying a mango can be.  I would have continued to enjoy fresh mango the hard way.  I would have found myself in mess after mess, and although I enjoy the mango at the end, sometimes I'd wonder if all the work warranted the joy.  But just by learning that I was using the wrong type of mango, sharing the experience with a friend, and laughing, toiling,  and almost cutting my finger off - I realized I had to change my approach to the situation.  Draw wisdom from his experience.  I know that in life I will always have messes, and there is never a shortage of them in life.  But by seeking wisdom, using the right tools, and not going at it alone - your mango mess can become a mango feast when you finally make the change.

Rotated pictures are not uploading will fix later - but look - no mess!

My season right now is change, and I'm ok with that.  I just need to be checkin myself to make sure that I am allowing all this change to be for the best.  And if I feel for a moment that I am not changing into the person I want to be, I need to be able to switch up my tools and perspective, and grab people to show me how to change.  Otherwise, I will end up creating mess after mess, with a little fruit in the end.