Meat and Potatoes

Sometimes it's the simple things that bring me peace.  I haven't posted here in a while for a few different reasons, but never because I didn't want to do so.  Sometimes, I can't quite muster enough energy, and at others, my internet connection is less than ideal (a story for another day) and I find most places with free WiFi around here to be a bit too loud for my purpose.  Usually, though, I'm just plain busy.  While there's no truly justifiable excuse, what with the implementation of the rather fool-proof time management system, it's easy for me to see how I let another couple of months pass by without my visiting.  This is where the simple things come into play.  Sometimes, I need to step back from everything and write.  Not anything remotely profound, either.  Just whatever allows me to let go of the stresses and cares to which I stubbornly cling (even though I can hear God practically begging for me to let Him take them from my shoulders every day).  So this evening, I choose to let go of my anxieties and remember the meat and potatoes of my day, and in a very literal way.  This evening, my husband and I looked up from the work we'd been doing to find it was 5:00 exactly, at which point we thought it proper to get some space from our tasks and make a meal together.  While it was a simple meal of chicken and vegetables, I found that sitting down to eat the meal we had made together was unexpectedly comforting.  Now, we rarely eat out, so we carve out time to cook fresh meals every other night or so (hooray for leftovers!), but I found that this simple ritual of cooking and eating a meal with my spouse was exactly what I needed to do in order to re-focus my mind and heart.  Having fun experimenting with different spices and creating a new vegetable medley was all it took to remind me the importance of taking the time to do such things.  My day has not been perfect, and I was almost so tired from it that my husband offered to make dinner himself, but I deliberately chose to make this memory, and now I'm so glad that I did.

Are there any simple yet meaningful rituals that bring you comfort and peace?