Beauty 365 … Stories of Love and Life for Everyday

According to the Church, the feast of Easter is so important that it cannot be celebrated on just one day, but is to be celebrated over eight days, hence the Easter Octave. My family is all over this and asserts that it is, in fact, our Christian obligation to feast like we did on Easter Sunday, every day for the next week!

Thankfully all the food preparation in our home isn’t left to me. During these lock-down days we are all taking it in turns to cook, and we do have a growing number of fine cooks in our household. One daughter has been dubbed our ‘pav queen’. We have a pasta pro and a gnocchi guru. We have a Mexican master and a chicken wrap hot shot. And my dear husband, of course, is BBQ king!

Sweets are my particular downfall. I’m ashamed to say it, but health concerns aside, I could easily live on a diet of doughnuts and chocolate. And when it comes to Easter eggs, I don’t have an off button. Even a tiny taste leaves my taste buds screaming for more.

Some of you who know me may think, “Oh, Annie, she’s one of those slim people who can eat whatever she likes and never gets fat!” Far from the truth. A good week of feasting and I can go up a dress size…or two!

So, Day 25 saw me back on the treadmill. Don’t imagine anything fancy.  Dressed in some old running gear donated by my daughters, I am not an athlete and rarely do anything above a fast walk. From the treadmill, which is undercover outdoors, I have a leafy view over the park. Somehow this gives me permission to join in the songs on my tailor-made Spotify running track at the top of my voice.  (Windows and doors of the house start mysteriously closing at this point, not sure why!) 

My family sometimes hints that the whole routine is more of a performance than a workout, but at its end, I collapsed off the treadmill, feeling exhilarated, and ready to join in another day of feasting.

After all, it’s nothing less than my Christian obligation!