My girls are outside eating fresh, warm local bread and butter. I hear shrills of laughter, mixed in with Olivia's high pitched "mom" voice as she talks to and soothes her baby dolls. I've got local tomatoes on the vine washed and ready to be made into a marinara sauce for tonight's dinner. The sun is shining, there's a slight breeze and, inbetween Olivia's screams for help (a doll pack and play must be folded down this very second), all is calm. Life is, oh, so good.
In the back of my mind, I'm wondering how I forgot to pick up some port wine from the store an hour ago. The marinara sauce would taste so much better with a few tablespoons of it added. I'm hoping Matt makes it home soon and we can sit together, as a family, before the girls get tired and cranky and practically beg to be put to bed.
Lastly, I'm thinking about "Eat Pray Love." I finally finished it (I got stalled on vacation and it took a bit to pick it back up again). So many people have asked me what I think of the book. So, here it is:
Eat (Italy) was yummy! I salivated all the way through it! I dreamed up what I was going to cook and eat next and sought out new restaurants and local dishes. I kept thinking, "Ohhh, I must have went to all the wrong places in Sicily! I never had food that good in Italy!" I was starving for more Italy by the time she landed in India (Pray) and planning a trip to Rome in my mind.
I had a very hard time staying focused as soon as she landed in India (Pray). I can't say I know a single yoga position and, while I've tried mediating in the past, its not something I feel comfortable doing. I would love to attend yoga classes for core and strength building, however, that's about as far as I imagine myself going. While I appreciated her spiritual journey at the ashram, I found myself skimming through India.
Everyone loves a good love story and acts of kindness. So, I enjoyed Bali (Love). Though, I did find myself thinking that maybe she found a "father" figure in her older boyfriend. Someone a lot of women with somber pasts turn to. After such a journey, I was a little disappointed to read she found not only an older man, but one with a similar past of divorce and heartbreak. I find myself wondering if she learned anything, really. It's easy to reach out to someone with a similar past, although, not always wise (in my opinion). Then again, that kind of thing just works for some people, therefore, I hope it works for her.
There were several times that I found myself comparing my past with her journey. It was during those times that I thought she just a bit dramatic with it all. However, I'm sure my close friends would say I was dramatic too. Seven years ago (or was it eight - funny how time really does fade bad times), I walked away from a relationship that had destroyed me. It was a long relationship (seven years) filled with constant tears and heartbreak. It took me begging a third (and final) therapist to help me leave a man I didn't want to leave, but knew I had to. After several months, one night, with the words of my therapist sticking in my mind, I walked out. Left him standing there, confused and shocked, that after all of the years he walked in and out of my life (and me allowing it), I finally got the nerve and self-respect, to leave. Seven years of heartbreak and sorrow laid to rest as I entered the world that had been passing me by and really started to live in it!
Look at my life now! A great husband, wonderful, healthy kids and, while the deployments are hard, the rest of it is filled with one fantastic journey after another. I LOVE it!
I was moved by the author's honesty and bravery for sharing so much of her journey to happiness with the rest of the world. I would love to follow-up on her journey. I wonder if she has a blog...
