My Becoming Journey: Week Eight

My entries this week really dealt with nourishment and holidays, which since my holidays involve family, is another form of nourishment for me. My first entry this week was about my favorite types of vegetables and how I like them prepared, which was very hard for me. It's not that I don't like vegetables, but I usually like them just as they are, or I have different variations of preparing my favorite vegetable and didn't want to write basically the same thing over and over. However, my other entries came more easily and were a bit less stressful to write about.

February 19, 2020

List ten favorite vegetables and how you like to prepare them.

1. Red potatoes baked with cilantro.

2. Sweet corn on the cob as is.

3. Asparagus baked in lemon juice and topped with a Parmesan/minced garlic mixture.

4. Twice baked potatoes with cheese and bacon.

5. Twice baked sweet potatoes with brown sugar and marshmallows.

6. Baked zucchini with just salt and pepper.

7. Spinach salad with Italian dressing.

8. Steam green beans with bacon.

9. Mashed potatoes and brown gravy.

10. Baked potato wedges.

February 20, 2020

How does nature nourish you?

A photo of Garden of the Gods from our 2019 trip.
(Source: My Photo Collection)

Nature and I have a complicated relationship between living in Texas and having allergies, but I still find ways to enjoy nature. Being a reader, I love nothing more than curling up with a book on the porch when weather permits. Reading is already an activity that pulls me away from the present, and when I can feel the sun warming me, or a soft breeze around me, it's a feeling close to nirvana. I also really enjoy long walks on the trails by our house and just enjoying the feeling of the trees around me and watching the animals scurrying around off the trails. Even when you pass other people, there is a peaceful silence that surrounds you. At the end of the walk, it doesn't matter how tired or sore I am, I feel a peace in me from spending time away from the world. A few things I love in this world are seeing mountains and caves. Not only are they equally beautiful and terrifying, they have a history that started long before me and will be around long after me. It is stunning to look at the erosion lines of different sediments that have built these structures and see how the world around this fixture has changes. These places have stood since before man, before dinosaur, before them even, and they are still here. It makes me feel very small in the grand scheme of things, but incredibly grateful that I am there taking in the beauty of it all.

February 21, 2020

How do you celebrate the holidays? What traditions does your family hold dear?

Holidays are big family evens for both Taylor and I and we make sure that we see of much of our family as possible, whether it be in small groups or one large group. No matter the size of the group, there is always a delicious meal, whether that be a Thanksgiving turkey, a Fourth of July cookout, or something decadent at Christmas. I almost always make the dessert, something that I take immense pride in. A tradition that I hold most dear is actually a more recent one that started in 2010 with the birth of my third niece. Each year, we have gotten a photo of me with my three nieces (I know we have one for 2015, but I cannot find it for the life of me). It is usually at Christmas or Thanksgiving, but each year it gets a little more and more difficult to get together, so any holiday will work for a picture. I love this more than anything. Looking back at how they have grown and changed is always surreal. When I think of them now, I think of them as they are, but when I look back at 2010, when Maggie was a few months old, Samantha was just 2, and Callie was only 12, I can't help but reminisce, but also be proud of everything they have accomplished since then.

Top Row: Christmas 2010, Christmas 2011, Christmas 2012.
Middle Row: Christmas 2013, Thanksgiving 2014, Thanksgiving 2016.
Bottom  Row: Christmas 2017, Thanksgiving 2018, Christmas 2019
(Sources: My Photo Collection; Amy Peterson's Photo collection)

February 22, 2020

Describe a memorable holiday - whether recently or in the past. Where were you? Who was there? What food was served?

A photo of me with a doll I got for Christmas circa 1996. This doll would
go on to scare me after one of my cousins said she saw it blinking in
the middle of the night.
(Source: My Dad's Photo Collection)

I always remember this one Christmas as the last Christmas I believed in Santa, although I cannot remember how old I was. It may have either been the last Christmas before I was an aunt, or the first Christmas I was an aunt, but still pretty young (I became an aunt a few weeks before my 7th birthday). It was one of the years that we celebrated Christmas in Texas at our house. My grandparents were sleeping in my brothers room, and he had been temporarily moved to the office futon; my aunt and uncle were placed in my bedroom, which put me on the couch in the living room. It was Christmas Eve, and I knew that Santa would be coming that night and we would open presents in the morning. But I couldn't fall asleep, and every child knows that Santa won't come if you're awake. I remember laying there and thinking of anything I could do to fall asleep, but kept coming back to the thought that I was going to ruin Christmas because there would be no gifts from Santa when everyone awoke. To this day, I don't know if my parents just waited until the morning before I woke up to put the gifts out, or if it was an elaborate dream and I really slept through everything. I just remember being happy I didn't ruin Christmas. I cannot say for certain if this was the exact last year I stopped believing, but I like thinking of it that way because I remember the immense joy I felt when I woke up and saw all of the gifts surrounding the dream. After the fear I felt the night before, the feeling of pure relief when I woke up made me appreciate the gifts as I unwrapped them. I think that is part of the reason why I put so much thought into gifts as an adult.

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