Amazing A1

Photo cred. Heidi Pumphrey
Chatham Sweet Corn Festival

This girl. This girl amazes me and I don't give her enough credit. I sometimes get too stuck in the role of overbearing and possibly too critical mom that I forget to appreciate A1 for the hardworking and driven young lady she is.  This girl is one of the busiest people I know, trust me, I drive her.

She spent her whole weekend doing what she loves; dancing and performing. I never heard her complain one time (ok, that might not be true. She did complain a little Saturday night when we were going over her schedule for the next day, but she bounced back fast!). It is what drives her. 

I have seen her learn a dance minutes before a performance. I have seen her learn a dance while she was performing. (That was a little intense, but she made it through and she learned that she can do anything she puts her mind to doing.)  I have seen her learn a dance from watching a video and then go on to perform the dance. Her passion and talent amaze me. 

I wish I could take credit for her talent, but anyone who knows me knows that just isn't the case. I am the one who trips on painted lines. I wish I could take credit for her desire to be busy, but I have a need for doing NOTHING. Sitting in a quiet space and enjoying every quiet minute is what charges me. She has a natural talent and passion that drives her. She has had phenomenal teachers along the way; ones that know when to push, when to wait, when to be hard, when to be soft, when to make something a learning moment, and when to let things go. 

Last night before she went to bed we went over the schedule for today. I was a little nervous because it was one activity after another (actually it was one activity on top of another. She had her next thing start before the last one ended) she has handled it like an adult. She had her bag packed and even set an alarm to get up when she needed to get up.

Her schedule for the day:

10:30-11:35 SDT rehearsal

12-1:30 SBC Trainee

1:30-4:00 SDT performance

3:00-6:00 Incredibles choreography assistant 

6:50-10:00 Muni rehearsal

By the time the day is over, she will have eaten three meals in the car today and has changed her clothes in the car three times. (Thank goodness for tinted windows and friends who hold up blankets!) I am so proud of this girl

Oh, Avocado!

It is 1:15 AM and I can't sleep. Why? Because there is a half eaten avocado in my refrigerator. It was supposed to be my afternoon snack. It was the other half of my breakfast avocado. I skipped my afternoon snack because I was at the grocery store. Well, in the parking lot, but that is a story for another day. 

My avocado addiction has gone from cute and trendy to seriously disturbing. This addiction is worse than any of my other addictions. It is more powerful than McDonald's Coke or Dr. Pepper. It controls me more than Brach's Malted Eggs (the old recipe). It owns me more than a dystopian YA novel. I crave it more than a Chic-Fil-A frozen coffee. It consumes my thoughts more than a Hallmark Christmas Movie. This addiction is real.

I have tried to explain the euphoria I feel after I fill my belly with an avocado, but I was only met with the stares from friends and family who started to see me as a woman on the edge. I am sure they thought summer 2018 had finally done me in.

I know what I felt couldn't be wrong so I went straight to google...

"Why do avocado's make me happy?" To my surprise, it popped up as a suggested search. This justified my feelings. There are others out there who felt the extreme happiness from this strange green fruit! The search results were lame; improved heart health, weight loss, boost brain performance, lower blood pressure. Blah, blah, blah... Those reasons DO NOT make me happy. SEE MY PREVIOUS ADDICTIONS: I am not addicted to healthy lifestyles. Yet. 

I continued to search until I found the answer I was looking for...

BOOM! There is was in black and white. Avocados have an abundance of Tryptophan. That is used in the brain to make serotonin. Everyone knows that we need serotonin to feel happy. I am basically eating my happy pills in fruit form. I must be addicted to feeling happy! That feels less pathetic than being addicted to food. 

PS Isn't Tryptophan that stuff in turkey that makes all of us old people need naps on Thanksgiving? Perhaps this is why I have needed a nap every day the last two weeks when my addiction flared up...

PPS I will still continue to take my little blue happy pills that my doctor prescribed. I am in no way suggesting avocados should replace any prescription medication!

PPPS (Is that even a thing?) It is now 1:45 and I can finally sleep. I ate that avocado half while I wrote this. I now have had my dose of tryptophan and can rest easy. I even scrapped the sides of the peel. No avocado left behind!