Sometimes You Have A Lot Of Leftover Tilapia. But It Makes A Pretty Good Lunch The Next Day.

It seems like in the last couple weeks my family dinner plans have become a bit of a pipe dream.  I've made meal plans and grocery shopped accordingly.  Tasty grilling recipes have been dog-earred in magazines.  The fridge has been filled with ingredients and culinary hope.  But the wonderful evenings together on the patio enjoying a meal as a family just haven't materialized as often as I'd imagined this summer.

The kids are just having way too much fun.

Raising teens in the summertime is a lot like being at a Zen Buddhist retreat...only you still have to do the laundry.  Every day I attempt to exercise non-attachment to outcomes as yet another afternoon at a practice or the pool turns into a series of sleepovers, movie nights and midnight hikes.  Just because I want a family dinner and I have procured all the necessary elements to make one, doesn't mean it's going to happen.  And what I must remind myself when this occurs is that the change in plans doesn't make my situation any less good/perfect/right.  It's just different than the outcome I'd imagined.

"Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out."  - John Wooden

So I prepare the lovely meal as best I can, but sometimes we eat late, sometimes we eat on the couch, sometimes there are only two of us and sometimes the house is filled with 16 people and the dinner I made won't stretch that far so we order pizza and save the perfectly seasoned tilapia for tomorrow.  Either way, I try to remind myself to be happy.  We're all together (sort-of), people are having fun (I mean it's summer, right?), and we are making our home a place where our kids and their friends feel welcome and comfortable.

And then there's also wine.  That helps too.  And occasional pouting.

So, we're leaving today for a family foursome weekend in Breckenridge.  I love the thought of 48 straight hours together.  I'm really going to appreciate this concentrated time together because I know when we return, the busy-ness will start up again.  And we'll deal with it and work on being grateful for whatever is happening at the time.  Then we'll plan our next escape.

I'm wearing this for our trip to the high country:

I like the subtle tones in this look with the pop of color up high.  I'm 46 so color near the face has its benefits.  The leopard cardigan will be thrown on if the temps drop or I just feel the need for a little animal print (rawr).

gratitude:  an in-home yoga session with Eliza and some friends (taught by my dear yogini friend, Jackie), Havaiana flip flops, money transfers, family weekends away

thanks and love.