The Big City

This weekend, we went a-travelling once again (it has been a very busy month for travels). We headed over to the Big City, where I spent a good deal of time when I was growing up. I solo'd with the kids and was surprised that after 15 yrs away, on a rural island, how uncomfortable I now am in the city. I would lock all the doors when we got in our vehicle, and hide my purse where someone couldn't just reach in and grab it (realizing this doesn't happen often anyway, but it's probably more likely to happen in the big city than it is in our sleepy village of 400 people). I was constantly on-guard as the kids went in separate directions on the playground, beach, or in stores - absolutely paranoid inside my head that they could be kidnapped. Our hotel was half a block from the city's sports stadium, and 50,000 people must've walked by our hotel room one night on the way to the game - again, something we're just not used to anymore - the general noise and stimulation and energy of the city. The other rather disturbing thing we realized as we were coming over was the thick layer of smog surrounding the city - and how when you're in the city, you're breathing in all this pollution. I have heard the analogy that the earth is just like your car's garage - it is a finite space that can only hold so much pollution, and while we don't notice it where we live so much, when you concentrate that many people like in a large city, it becomes apparent, the effects of our small, individual choices in terms of creating or alleviating pollution. All in all, we had a lovely visit to the city, but we were all SO glad to get back to the rural island when it was over!

We went on a miniature train ride, to the children's petting zoo, and to the Aquarium. We rode on public transit (a highlight for the kids!), but the highlight of the weekend was the Pokemon National Championships. It was a LONG day, but after playing 6 rounds, you-know-who was in 38th place - not high enough to make the cut for the semi-finals. A VERY good learning experience overall, as we had never gone to a tournament of any sort before. Some of the players were pretty serious, especially as 1st & 2nd place received free Wii's and paid trips to the Worlds in Orlando, FL next month, among many other prizes!!

And as far as eating raw vegan, you would think in a city of 1+million people that it would be simple to find raw vegan food. Not as easy as I was hoping. We went to a market in the city and picked up some organic fruit for breakfast the next morning. While the kids ordered in pizza that night, I had a salad (which was surprisingly good) from the pizza place. The next day we were at Pokemon all day so I snacked on Larabars and fruit and a veggie snack plate. Dinner we went out and I had a huge salad. And the next day we were heading back home already, after a trip to the one vegan juice bar I could find in the city - which yes, was bliss. I had a green juice and a shot of wheatgrass and a raw apricot nut bar.

Long story short, I did eat some cooked food this weekend and some of it was not even vegan. But you know, it's not about being fanatical in our food choices; it's about doing the best we can in every moment and sometimes, we won't be 100% raw or 100% vegan or whatever, and there is opportunity for forgiveness in these moments. Knowing that of the 1,000+ meals I eat every year that only a handful are cooked and/or not vegan is comforting, indeed, that I can choose, on the whole, to be compassionate towards myself and towards my environment and food.