I am amazed at how much time being a stay-at-home mom takes. I am constantly on the move. If it's not the kids, it's the Rabbinical Assembly or a potential student, or basic household needs.
Still, it's not all mundane. I am cooking more, which I've missed, and making the foods I'd rather have fresh like homemade bread and applesauce so wonderful the kids want it for dessert. There are also the wonderful moments of insight caught in the in-betweens of the day.
I was sitting at the dojo last Thursday during the kids' karate classes reading. There's so little downtime that I take any moments I can. I am currently reading Walking the Bible. One theme revisited in the book is the connection to the land, the lessons of the desert.
Since we spend about three hours at the dojo twice a week, we bring dinner. It requires more planning and time than a dinner at home, but in the end is much healthier than we used to do.
I was eating a clementine, almost absent-mindedly. I'd pull a section from the fruit with my teeth to keep one hand on my book. I was suddenly aware of the burst of juice, the sour-sweetness that rolls over the tongue... and I wondered about my ancestors tasting an orange for the first time. How miraculous that moment must have been- the textured rind peeled away to reveal the bright color, the smooth fruit on the tongue that suddenly bursts into flavor.
We all too often forget to look for the miraculous in the mundane. We miss the rainbow in front of us. It's these moments that remind us to look up.
