Monday, August 17, 2015

A Day Alone with Granita and a Good Book

Day 1.

Day 2.

Day 1.

Day 2.

Day 1.

Day 2.

Day Off.

And repeat.

This has been my schedule since August 3. To quote a few of my coworkers, "I have no concept of what day it is anymore, I just know whether it's a day 1 or day 2." For two weeks now, I've been on staff to help incoming freshman understand the ins and outs of Western's academics as well as assist them in planning their schedule for the first quarter. Thus far, it's been equal parts rewarding and exhausting--especially since we only get one day off a week.
The Sunday night before work started, I was a bridesmaid my childhood best friend's wedding in Salem. Many thanks and thousands of boxes of Good and Plentys are owed to my father for making sure I was back home in time to get to work that first Monday morning. This past Sunday was one of my roommate's birthdays, so of course we had to celebrate.
Yesterday, however, was probably my favorite August Sunday so far.
This past spring, I found a book called "I Hunt Killers" by Barry Lyga at my local library. I devoured the thing. It was the kind of book where, when I went back to the library to pick up reading material for a trip in June, I picked up the sequel, "Game", without a second thought. Similarly to the first book, I ate up the second within 48 hours of starting it--maybe less. My brother, who was on the trip with me, was so entertained/distracted/intrigued by my outbursts at the book that the series ended up being most of the dinner conversation one night.
It's dangerous to get me started on the books I'm reading. 
Mid-July, I made another trip back to the library and found the final book of the series, "Blood of My Blood" as well as five other books. I told myself that I was going to save the Barry Lyga novel until last and until I had a day to just sit down and read, but then that day didn't come for six weeks. Being an adult and actually taking care of my responsibilities takes a lot of time away from my reading.
Lemon Granita = Success
But, with the impending due date drawing nearer, I decided to make my day off--this past Sunday--a date with this book.
Of course, I'd also been feeling homesick earlier in the week so it turned out to be a date with "Blood of my Blood" and a granita recipe I received from my mother this past Christmas.
The lemony-goodness was so tasty, I could almost believe I was sitting at Old Time Bar, crashing the Saturday morning teacher breakfast. Almost.
I tend to forget how much I enjoy days set aside to do exactly what I want--whether it be read, experiment in the kitchen, or play with my craft supplies--as opposed to the things I should do. Having a Sunday to just wake up lazily then roll over and dive right into a book was amazing. It both reminds me of weekends past and has me looking forward to weekends once I don't have homework to be concerned about doing.
I'm really big on reflection. I think it's important to know how something affected you in the past so you can know whether it's worth investing in or risking in the future. In addition to the multitude of other things I've learned so far this summer, I know that taking a day to just read and stir my slowly freezing granita is as close to a perfect Sunday as yesterday could have been for me. Now if I can just find more time in the near future to relax and do rejuvenating things, I'll be quite happy.
For now, though, I have to pack.


1 comment:

  1. A good book and lemon granita sound like the perfect way to spend a day!

    ReplyDelete