A good cup of tea in --

The second vaccine was much easier than the first one. I’m not sure what the possible explanations are for that, but I’m grateful all the same.

I’ve been thinking. As usual.

I have been learning to make small pleasures part of my daily routine. I know, it seems like a no-brainer. I have never done this. I have lived daily life as a means to an end for as long as I can remember. I never took time to just enjoy things; I usually saw that as something to do on another day (like a weekend). Life is just an endless completion of tasks.

I realized this is another way I was failing to put myself first, even in a small way. I can take care of responsibilities, children, work… But I’m a whole person outside of these things too, not just a servant to Life. This has been a strange, but simple, revelation.

So, every evening, I make myself tea.

I can’t begin to say how much I enjoy this momentary lapse of the day. It is a good, quiet and relaxing thing. It’s small, not only in how much space it takes but it hardly takes any time to do.

Between having a pet and a good cup of tea, those are the most surprising things I find so much value in that I didn’t fully understand before.

I look forward to surprising myself more – I always said I didn’t like surprises, but I like these kinds. I like discovering and cultivating the good parts of me. It feels good.