Do you spend your time on things that nourish you, or things that simply fill time? John Green started thinking about this for himself this fall. After watching his video, I decided to ask that about my own time. And I realized that, probably like many of you, I do some of both. But also, I did more of the “filling” than I’d like. Filling – or maybe killing – time The internet provides vast opportunities for filling time. Not that you can’t also use it to nourish yourself, but that takes a bit more effort. I think one of the problems is FOMO – the fear of missing out. With so many things available for us to watch, read, or listen to, you might feel like you have to keep up on all of it. I’ve

Regular readers will know that I’m a sci-fi fan, including Doctor Who. But you may not know that in recent years, Doctor Who does a Christmas special, and tangerines – or other citrus fruit – have played roles in more than one of them. But in the 2014 special, Last Christmas, Santa (yes, he made an appearance as well) got the bad news that no one wants the tangerine. When I saw that, I wanted to jump up, raise my hand, and say, “I want it!” And it’s true, because for me, having that bit of gold on Christmas brings back a lot of memories. Picture this, if you will. A young boy and girl creeping into their living room on Christmas morning. Their parents are still asleep, and it’s completely bl

I’ve been on quite a journey with my cats and their eating, and lately it’s been more of an adventure than I’d like. But it’s also been a fascinating learning process, making me more aware of what they want and need for food – not just what I think they should have. In the beginning Way back when I first got Salem in the fall of 1999, she was around a year old and quite small, only 7 pounds. She didn’t stay that way, though. When she had free access to dry food, she took full advantage of it. By the time she got up to 13 pounds, the vet suggested I limit her food intake. This was a new concept for me, since we never had to do that with cats when I was growing up. And I didn’t even have to wo

People often make the wrong assumptions about my eating. They look at me choosing nutrient-dense foods instead of going immediately for the fatty or sweet options, and they think I’m disciplined. But the reality is, when I’m making those kinds of food choices, it’s not because of discipline. It’s because of desire. I think what trips people us is that it’s not desire for the food as a means of instant gratification, of getting the immediate pleasure of those tasty treats (and I don’t deny that they’re usually tasty). Instead, my desire is two-fold. Part of it is to eat foods I enjoy, but it’s also to feel good after eating. To have the energy to get on with the rest of my life. Does this mea

I’d planned to write about something else today. Then I found out last week that my friend’s mom had gone into hospice. And when I was visiting at the hospice center, I flipped through an information booklet and saw a section about food. The part that stood out for me was: “We eat to live. When a body is preparing to die, it is perfectly natural that eating should stop. This is one of the hardest concepts for a family to accept.” I remember this first-hand. When Mom was nearing the end, Dad brought some raspberry pie, which was what she normally had on her birthday. But since she was declining so fast, he brought it a couple of days early, on their anniversary. Even then, all she could manag