How to Create a Lunch ‘To Go’

Meals to the field
School lunches
Lunch to take to work

What do these three things have in common?
 

Good food and presentation

Stopping

in the middle of the field;

at noon between classes;

half way through the shift

to nourish the body so work and studies

are not delayed too long

But what about the person 

who prepared the lunch ~

a small meal just for me?!

My mom showed me how to make my lunch

I love designing my lunches

I love creating my own mealtime

My joy in whatever my day has brought me

because my creation is more than just the food.

It is about the presentation.

A pretty place setting,

Nicely wrapped sandwiches.

Hot coffee or tea in a china or glass mug

Cold milk in a glass tumbler (or fancy jelly jar)

And a little dessert to round out the meal.

So many of us

just throw something together from the cupboard (often not a balanced diet) or 

run to the deli across the street for something good that fills the stomach

(costs too much in time and money)

“Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking

if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity.”

~ Voltaire

The Magic of Imagination

My best, or maybe,

my most prolific ideas

are when I am busy.

images and words arising 

from tactile busy actions.

My hands involved in

doing dishes

pulling weeds

planting vegetables

painting a picture

walking along a lane or byway

or interlaced and behind my head as I watch 

clouds

birds

sunsets

sunrises.

Fragments of

story

poem

that I file quickly away

in a less than orderly

filing drawer in my mind.

Right now I think of

re-imagining that filing cabinet.

It is made of beautiful holographic oak wood.

with a magic drawer that

from the front appears small and space saving

However, reminiscent of God’s filing cabinets, 

that one drawer can pull out infinitely.

This bit of imagination, in the movie Bruce Almighty,

was when God was played by Morgan Freeman!

And in that drawer in my creative mind?

File folders every colour of the rainbow.

Tabbed with golden labels that define

theme

topic

genre

swooping out for presentation whenever I ask.

Unlike my literal file drawers,

this magic file drawer

orders itself should I put something amiss.

Is there an app on the face of the drawer

that will send me to the right place to find

my brilliant idea?

In my imagination

I can make one

In my imagination

I can create anything.

In the real world, it is much more labour intensive,

but I can still create anything.

Creating small gems or small swatches then

stringing or sewing them together, to make 

tapestries

quilts

jewelry

full of beauty and eclectic designs - all from imagination.

“Think left and think right

and think low and think high.

Oh, the thinks you can think up

if only you try!”

~ Dr. Seuss

Learning to Write

Writing equals penmanship

Writing ideas, facts, stories in

a sentence

an essay

a poem

a book 

is a very different subject.

I learned penmanship in school

from printing big rounded letters 

to learning cursive lettering

in wide lined notebooks

In school, I also wrote 

sentences

essays

and read 

poetry

story 

history

In the land of higher education, I read books written 

academically

clinically

poetically

Now I want to write mstories and poems with

better grammar

clearer images

one metaphor at a time

So I gathered together

a ‘curricula’

and home studied from 

the wisdom of authors.

I set my own time table

Went to classes - composed of work shops

Listened to interviews with authors.

My shifting nursing career is now about more than 

blood pressures

clinical assessments

interdisciplinary communication.

My nursing career provides a wealth of 

essays

stories

poems

to write.

“Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep 

interested in your own career, however humble; it is 

a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

~ Max Ehrman

Labels - Helpful or Not

Labels have been on my mind this week

The value of labels

The detriment of labels

Labels are everywhere

On soup cans and bread bags

On the tag of clothes

On bright file folders in desk drawers

On bottles and cans

Everywhere

Telling us

what the contents are

how to care for an item

what temperature to use

calorie content

quantity

size

what to watch out for.

legislated facts providing

lots of really good information

for whomever is buying or selling any item

a new shirt

a can of soup

Items can be 

bought

consumed

disposed of

Health labels, on the other hand, hold

opinions

myth

emotion

curiousity       

judgement

excuses

Researched facts providing

lots of really good information

for health care workers or any person blessed 

with certain health conditions in any one of three categories

medical - physical disorders - brain, liver, lungs & other body parts

addiction to alcohol, street or prescription drugs.

psychiatric - mental illness from chemical brain dysfunctions

So how are labels helpful?

"They stick you with those names, those labels - 'rebel' or whatever;

whatever they like to use.  Because they need a label; they need a 

name.  They need something to put the price tag on the back of it."

~ Johnny Depp

Interactive Kinesthetic Telepathy

And what do I muse about today?

Hugs - that’s the most important thing. 

Oh, yes I have done all the usual house things.

You know, tidying, putting things away washing dishes, dusting.

And I’ve cut the grass, baked a loaf of bread, pulled a few more weeds, 

trimmed new little shoots from trunks of two old pear trees; answered emails, occasionally listened to the CBC radio.

But from early morning

the most important thing lacking

is very tactile in nature.

Hugs punctuate our lives in comma's and brackets. 

From the soft, warm hugs of a little one,

to the ‘I’m really an adult’ hug of a teenager;

sister/brother hugs,

friend to friend hugs

Hugs with tears of 

sadness

joy

excitement

glad to see you hugs

I’m proud of you hugs

good morning hugs

good night hugs

Lack of hugs is felt

so much more deeply when family 

tradition

genetics

learned behaviour

dictates that hugs be given

with both arms,

and tightly,

not so tight as to squeeze the breath out of a person or

break your back

but snuggly tight.

When nothing has to be said because

those snuggly, solid hugs say it all.

Hugs:  Definition ~

Interactive kinaesthetic telepathy 

or is it

Reciprocal kinaesthetic telepathy
or is it
Just lovely and warm.

"There's something in a simple hug that always warms the heart.

It welcomes us back home and makes it easier to part."

 - Johnny Ray Ryder, Jr., "A Simple Hug"