Nourish.

A few hours ago, I sat across a fast-food table from my 8-year-old drinking a peppermint chip milkshake.  (My original idea was to eat healthy before Thanksgiving tomorrow, but plans changed.) We were on a lunch date. He wanted to bring a deck of Empathy Cards, which is a kind of game, like table topics. He likes to ask the question on each card and then we both answer it.

He pulled out a card and asked me the question:

 “One thing I know I need to work on is ______”
Me: “Being on time.”
Isaiah: “Multiplying by 7s.”

“I work best when_____”
Me: “I’m all by myself.”
Isaiah: “Yes! Me too!”

“Ambiguity makes me feel______”
Me: “Uneasy”
Isaiah: “What does ambiguity mean?”

The reason we were out for a lunch date today is because I read two questions this morning that redirected my day.
1) What is your appetite for this season? ….and
2) What is truly nourishing your heart?

I’ve been feeling unsettled, disorganized and crabby lately. I have a definite appetite for something, but I haven’t been sure what it is. I’ve been feeling a sort of vague hunger which resulted edginess and looking at my phone more than usual.

Yesterday afternoon, I was working from home; listening to a recorded training and assembling dinner ingredients, and Isaiah kept coming in and talking to me.

“Mom, at school today, me and Matthew both totally guessed the answer to a problem and it was 4½!”
“Mom, look! I can make my pretzels look like fangs.”
“Mom.” And I paused the training (again) and told him very curtly that I am working and he can’t keep interrupting me. He turned around with out saying anything and went back to the basement.  I sighed so deeply, knowing I hurt his feelings.

The list of to-dos is long. Two in our household have the flu. Our calendar has been so full lately. But my heart has been feeling disconnected and malnourished. Can you relate?

When I read the question this morning about “What is your appetite for this season?” and “What is nourishing your heart?”, I had an idea of what I’ve been hungry for.  I crossed a few things off my to-do list and asked Isaiah if I could take him out for lunch. We sat at Chick-fil-A for NINETY MINUTES going through those Empathy cards and drinking peppermint chip shakes. It was the best.