My super food day was perfectly timed. Yesterday was the day and I did honestly feel good throughout most of it. I have to say that quinoa, the ancient grandmother of grains, is an acquired taste and I haven't yet acquired it. I cooked the quinoa in chicken broth, then mixed it with black beans. It just didn't have enough taste. I'm thinking it might provide an interesting texture in a mostly green salad.
I picked yesterday as my superfood day because I knew I would be homeless in the wintery cold temperatures for a good long stretch with a bunch of warm-hearted teens (who actually camped outside in boxes and tarps all night long to raise money for the homeless plight in Cleveland.) I thought "Those super foods will help my body fight the cold." And they did! However, I did finally succumb to my children's cold at 10 p.m. after five hours outside. Even after sampling a steaming hot cup of vegetable Stone Soup, my body called it quits and, after driving home, I took a long, hot oatmeal bath before crashing into my own warm comfy bed.
Honestly, I don't know how the homeless do it. There's so much that I take for granted most days, not realizing fully what an incredible blessing it is to have a warm cushy bed, my own spacious bedroom and well-built home, to have so many food choices and to be able to throw together a superfood day at whim.
What I find sad is that people are willing to live like that. That's not to say that all homeless people have absolute control over their homelessness, and I'm betting that once people fall that far it's really difficult to climb back out. There are a lot of reasons, some very tragic, why people wind up on the street. But I know a few must prefer that style of living to all the responsibility and conformity implied in holding down a job to pay for basic indoor living. It's just sad, and a little horrifying. You were brave to go out in the elements and be that cold for a while, especially in a good cause. Good woman!
ReplyDeleteWe are all so very blessed and unfortunately, so very human. We get colds despite our access to healthy good foods, comfortable warm beds, and safe lovely homes and that often we just take for granted our blessing filled lifestyles. It is humbling to confront the difficult circumstances that others live in and also the frailty or our own bodies. Your experiences this weekend are a reminder/lesson to us all, we should and can to do more for those in need.... and even we try our best we may not stay healthy.
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