Day 6 - Cow Dung Muffins

Another thwarted gift attempt! I had a meeting at 5 so I decided to make some muffins for everyone. They can be a tough group so an injection of kindness and nurturing would be a good thing. The muffins contained Earl Grey tea, which I thought sounded wonderful but the batter came out like pancake batter, very runny. The finished muffins were no better; they looked more like little piles of cow dung (with the tea leaves resembling flies - nice, huh?) It did, however, prove to be a nice time with the kiddos who got to lick the bowl so I'm still glad that I did it. I arrived at the meeting empty handed, however.

I then had an argument with Husband. We've had some major life stresses recently and it's tearing at our ability to be patient and loving with each other. That being said, my spirits have been greatly lifted in the six days I've been doing this. I find that I'm not just looking for mindful ways of giving, but compassionate ways of dealing with difficult people (except for Husband but he's only been difficult recently.) I went to the bookstore after our argument and just read books and hung out. My dream is to be a writer and just being around books inspires and soothes me. I would love to get up the nerve to write something (other than a hastily written blog.) Perhaps that could be a gift to myself one day. On the way out, I stopped at the wrapping table to borrow some scissors and I realized that I hadn't acutually given anything since my gift became Earl Grey Cow Dung. So, I asked them about their charity, and instead of just handing them a dollar and bailing, I really talked to the woman. I found out how her son had had cancer and really listened to her story, not hurrying or thinking what I needed to do next (which was wash all the cow dung dishes at home - maybe I was being avoidant rather than a good listener.) Well, I gave her the last dollar in my bag and a bit of change and left enriched by the connection.

Unfortunately, Husband slept on the couch, which is rare in our eleven years of marriage. I think I need to get him involved in this as well which is about as likely as him asking for a Hello Kitty fleece coat for Christmas.