change your perspective...

I'm exhausted. I'm constantly stressed out about money and all its cronies. And yet, I ate medjool dates today, and played outside with munchkins.

The simple thing is this: whenever you (I) find yourself (myself) feeling overwhlemed and overrun, complaining about all the things that you (I) have to do~

Change that "have to" to "get to."

I have to go to work.

I get to go to work. I get to talk to almost-five-year-olds about the golden retrievers they dream of. Today she told me that when she's eight and her sister is five, they'll get a golden retriever. When I asked her what she would name her dog, she thought for a minute and said, "Maybe... LOVE. Or maybe Anna!"

I have to clean my kitchen.

I get to clean my kitchen. I have a kitchen to clean! I have hot running water, dishes to dirty, food with which to dirty them. I remember a cafe in Oaxaca, Mexico where the kitchen was about a third of the size of mine, and my kitchen is pretty tiny by American standards.

It works for anything, really. We forget how fortunate we are, and even though happiness is relative, there's always value in gratitude and sharp focus.

And I'm grateful for the children who drive me nuts and poop in the bathtub and clobber each other when they're tired and hungry. Because they also snuggle and laugh and create and act silly with me.

I'm grateful for the mess in my kitchen, because someone loaned me a small appliance today so that I could make something delicious for an equally delicious gathering that will happen tomorrow evening. And here is the recipe, so that you can have a messy kitchen, a happy belly, and a grateful heart right beside me and mine.

*Raw Fudge

1.5 cups raw walnuts
12 fresh medjool dates (take the pits out! and do not skimp! sub-par dates will kill your fudge.)
a dash of salt
1/3 cup unsweetened (organic if possible) cocoa powder
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. water, if needed
1/2 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut

You just mix each thing in the food processor in this order, adding as you go. It sort of balls up eventually and you can just smoosh it around with a spoon. You can play with ingredients~ leave out the coconut if you're not a fan, try a bit of almond or cherry extract... And when it's all nice and mixed up, blob it into a shallow container and smooth it out. Maybe 1/2-1 inch thick is good. Let it sit in the fridge and then cut it into squares. It's easier to cut and arrange the pieces if it's cold, but tastes best if it warms up a bit before you eat it.

Yum! You get to eat healthy fudge!

And I get to go to bed.