Friday, March 18, 2016

O light, return to me!

Lately, this motivational phrase has been running through my head every morning when I wake up, "March. Spring. Not much longer, now. I can do it."

I’ve never been a person to get the blues, and I usually live my life enjoying the moment, cherishing each day and what it brings. Although I’m not particularly unhappy at the moment, this year, I’m really looking forward to the summer.

I feel like I’ve been running on fumes since September last year. The past fall and winter appear as a never ending stream of weekdays, where morning fatigue never quite went away until I’d drop down exhausted at the end of the day. Week after week went by and ended in uneventful weekends around the house, because things needed done, or someone was sick, or I just wanted to sleep. I feel like I spent more time watching Netflix than hanging out with friends. Dinners and parties required more energy than I had; even mundane every day things seemed daunting. I can count the days on one hand where I feel like I actually accomplished something.

The darker months have an impact on mood and energy, but it seems like this winter was longer than usual, even though it wasn’t very cold or rainy. For me, I think the main reason was because I didn’t really have a good summer last year. It was the first summer for as long as I can remember that I didn’t travel anywhere, and although I had several beach moments, I mainly worked. All. Summer. Hence, when fall came around, I didn’t start my descent from that high summer peak, but rather, I started in the valley, without a booster. As darkness and cold descended upon us, I had nothing to hold on to.

Still, I endured, and it’s almost over. Spring is here, with Easter, and soon it will be May, and we will travel. All. Summer. And I will refill my energy pool, and recharge my spirit, and nothing will seem daunting again.

Monday, March 14, 2016

Grocery shopping in Beirut - Thank heavens for Spinney's Online Delivery

It’s a beautiful Monday morning, and somebody just had the last of the milk that was in the fridge. But not to worry; my Spinneys delivery is on its way: 16 bottles of milk, 8 bottles of juice, four boxes of cereal, 6 packages of pasta, four baguettes, three dozen eggs, four kilos of meat/fish, three bags of flour, and a ton of veggies and fruit. We should be all set for the next week or so, with the help of frequent trips to the local produce guy.

I am so thankful for the convenience of online grocery shopping. It has transformed our lives! Since we don’t have a car here, getting large quantities of food (I have four growing boys, remember?) into our home would in the past involve dealing with taxi drivers in Arabic (not my strongest language), trying to figure out the correct address, paying large taxi fares, handling carts full of grocery bags, etc. not to mention the taxi driver's remarks when he'd see how much we bought (They must be really rich, right? Hello! We don't even have a car, and you do!) It wasn’t fun. Sometimes I would be able to go shopping with my neighbor, who has a car, which was like heaven. Mainly though, we had to spend an unpleasant afternoon every two weeks or so, getting out food.

Now, I order online, and the next day, groceries are delivered straight into my kitchen. Although I can’t get everything – there are certain things I like to get that this store doesn’t carry – I can get most things, and whatever else I need, I can walk up to one of the shops in Hamra for. Or go with my neighbor to get. I don’t even have to have cash in the house, because the delivery men bring a remote machine for payment by credit card. It’s simply perfect!