Thoughts for Thursday (Red)

What am I cooking tonight?

Mandarin Chicken Salad. It looks delicious, doesn’t it? It’s quick and easy to make. I will post the recipe in the comments.

What am I reading? I just finished Anna Karenina and I’m heading to the library today to pick up a new book.  I’m leaning towards A Tale of Two Cities, as I haven’t read it since high school, but I’m up for alternative suggestions.

What are my weekend plans? I’m headed to the beach for a long weekend.  Unfortunately, it is just as much work to take my family for 4 days as it is for 7, so I’m spending the better part of today and tomorrow packing.  After the outer bands of Hurricane Earl clear the area on Friday, the forecast for the weekend looks very promising!

What are my prayer intentions for the day? For my husband, my time of packing, and for our family weekend away.

What is one product that is making my life a little easier? Organic baby yogurts by Stoneybrook Farms.  I love that I can just pop off the top and stir.  They are expensive, but really convenient when traveling or busy.

What am I grateful for? Hugs from my children.

What have I done for my marriage this week? Mr. Red and I went out to very good dinner last night, and we spent some really quality time talking about our relationship.

What’s challenging me lately? Feelings of insecurity about my relationships with other people.  While there is nothing I can do about this other than pray, I have unfortunately been reminded of that feeling on the middle school playground, you know the one where everyone is standing in a circle gabbing and you get the distinct sense that you aren’t welcome to walk over there.  

What is one task or project on my agenda for the week? After I return from the beach early next week, I would love to rid my dining room table of the various empty picture frames collecting there.  I plan to order new photos to fill some of these old frames, and to discard the frames we no longer need.  It seems something is always collecting on my dining room table.

Something that made me think? This article on dying in the United States.  I am blessed to have witnessed the last days of my grandfather’s life, a man who died in his own bedroom surrounded by family.  My grandfather was a man of faith, who taught us all how to live and how to die.  His last days stand in stark contrast to what the author of the article describes.  I realize there are many reasons why so many Americans head to a hospital to die, among them a lack of faith and a cultural fear of death, but I am concerned about a general trend towards institutionalization in all areas of life.  We birth our babies in an institution, we raise our young children in institutionalized settings, we send our older children into institutionalized educational systems, and so why should how we die be any different?  Often in opting out we really live, and perhaps it is also how we should die.