I’ve been on an academic calendar for so long that September always feels like the start of a new year, whether it is or isn’t. I guess a traditional view of the seasons would be that spring is a time of rebirth, winter and fall a time of death, or endings, but I can’t help but associate these autumnal months (my favorites of the calendar year) with fresh starts.
I don’t have much to say today except that I’m welcoming the change in seasons, literally and in spirit. This year, more than any year in recent memory, I’m ready for change. Some of the change is already in motion, since I’m in the last stages of wrapping up my RD journey and my grad school saga. But what I’m feeling goes beyond anticipation of professional/academic shifts to come. It’s the hope that this year will be a year of change in every way and across all dimensions of my life. The more, the merrier. Bring it on.
I know that experiencing change isn’t a passive thing; most of the time, when we want something to change, we have to change it ourselves. And I’m totally committed to that. In the past week, I’ve been giving a lot of thought to patterns of my own doing that I need to look at honestly—more honestly than I have been. Turns out I have a lot of work to do.
I also know that there’s only so much change we can will into being, through action or thought. Life has a rhythm of its own. The hope I’m nurturing right now recognizes that I need to be open and do the work, but it also acknowledges that I can only do so much. In that way it feels less like a hope than a prayer; a quiet but ardent entreaty for the months ahead to truly be a new beginning.
Fingers crossed. Here are some recipes and reads.
Recipes
I blend cashews up into everything, so it’s nice to have a nut-free vegan ranch dressing option.
An easy cooking method for some delicious looking roasted new potatoes.
I never say no to a grown up PB&J, and this one looks particularly good.
Tempeh bacon is the vegan bacon I make most often at home, but my favorite store-bought brand (SweetEarth’s) is made with seitan. This recipe is inspiring me to try my own.
Finally, a gorgeous banana fig loaf to make while figs are fleetingly in season.
Reads
1. Kind of cool, kind of freaky: food made from thin air (or CO2, vitamins, water, and renewable electricity, to be exact).
2. Speaking of back-to-school season, the story of where ants-on-a-log came from is surprisingly interesting.
3. I took genetics about seven years ago, and back then my professor seemed very interested in the puzzle of why so called “junk” DNA—stretches that don’t end up coding for proteins that then become part of our physical makeup or vital for our functioning—exist. Sounds like science is giving us more and more clues.
4. Tomatoes have been on my mind this week thanks to this soup, so I enjoyed reading about the new-to-me kitchen hack of grated tomatoes and grated tomato sauce.
5. A heartrending essay on the experience of losing a child in birth and what follows. As someone who has so far been spared too many experiences of grief, I was struck by this passage:
People worry about accidentally reminding someone about a loved one who’s died, but those of us who know can tell you it doesn’t work like that. They’re always with us. People intend their silence to be reverence and respect, when all we want is to hear their name on someone else’s lips. The memory of her physical body is painful, but it also brings me joy. There isn’t one without the other.
I’ll remember this the next time I find myself hesitating to talk about my loved one’s lost loved ones.
Wishing you all a restful Sunday evening.
xo
You might also like
Good morning, everyone, and happy Saturday. I hope that those of you who celebrated yesterday had a lovely holiday. I woke up this morning and realized with a smile that in spite of the fact that I’m 33, I’ve retained my childhood tendency to wake up melancholy on December 26th. There’s something so wistful about watching the holiday season pass by, even if the holidays tend to bring up a lot of complex emotions for many of us. I try to see the melancholy as…
It’s the last day of my little mid-rotation fall break. Of course I didn’t do all of the things I wanted to do this week: ambitious home cleaning and organization projects, getting up-to-date on my inbox, etc.. But it was good. I gave myself a lot of empty time. I lay around plenty. I cooked some recipes for the blog. I’m not exactly ready for the pace to pick up again, but I’m ready enough, rested enough. While I was resting, I gave…
First, a heartfelt thank you for the kind, supportive words about Power Plates this week. I’m so grateful for them, and to those of you who have been cooking and sharing on Instagram, I can’t tell you how much joy it gives me to see the recipes take life in other peoples’ kitchens. It’s been interesting to observe the feelings that have come up since the book came out. I felt a little jittery before the release, which is probably normal, but the…
For a few weekends in a row, I’ve written this post in a reflective, calm state, posted it early in the day, and spent the remainder of my Sunday doing what needs doing. Not today: the Sunday Scaries swooped in this morning, and in spite of planning some nice stuff in the afternoon (including seeing a play with my mom) that helped to quell them, I’ve just been too scattered to sit down and write anything. I’m starting a new internship rotation tomorrow….
Leave a Comment
Dear Gena, this was such a lovely meditation on change in the context of the changing season, and really there’s no other transition that begins the movement inward that winter brings like Fall. I so appreciate how you attempt to balance intention and will with a kind of acceptance of the ever changing rhythms of life. Sending you lots of love at this time of transition! (OMG that banana fig loaf!)