changes

A friend* recently noticed (from a Facebook post) that I’d eaten dinner at Morton’s Steakhouse.  She seemed more than a little shocked given my formerly-hippie ways (back in the day when I eschewed meat, wore all organic-cotton clothing, and grew my own veggies in my expansive compost-fertilized garden).  It’s a huge change from the now-me, who has only a handful of potted herbs, who often buys clothes because of expediency/necessity for events rather than for their sustainability, who spends most of her outdoor-time with a paddle in hand instead of a shovel, and who has a long-ish daily commute from Irvine to Orange.

I don’t think that I’m any less authentic or intentioned than in the days when I had the luxury of time to follow environmentalist ideals and could spend a day biking to and wandering around the local grower’s market or in search of clothing in second-hand stores.  It was a season of my life that I enjoyed, much, but is now behind me.

I wouldn’t say that I’ve evolved past those ways of doing things–not at all.  Instead, my choices are pragmatic ones.  In order to have the time with my family that I relish, I have to make choices in other parts of my life to keep things simple.   And, these days I’m shopping at Whole Foods instead of the Farmer’s Market, and catching up with friends via Facebook instead of over the garden fence (oh, that’s probably the hardest part I’d say).

*The friend who made that observation will understand why there’s a photo of Eggs Benedict from my recent Montreal trip accompanying this post–it’s one of my favorite breakfasts when I travel.   ;-)