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Brewing Tea

to wash down a vegan burrito.

By Karen LichtmanPublished 4 years ago 4 min read
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SUNDAY

APRIL 5, 2020

INT: MY TINY LIVING SPACE, SOUTHERN BROOKLYN - MORNING

• I woke up at 6:30am..ish

• Took an Om, Immunity Defense. With 16oz of Nuun w/vitamins and caffeine.

• Put up a pot of tea

• Lit a Palo Santo

I love brewing tea. There is really not much to it. I buy and collect bags and loose leaves. I take several of each, put them into a pot, and fill with water. Now I add the herbs, seasonings, or whatever I have. Today I added dried cardamom and whole cloves. In my freezer, I have a container of maca, flax, chia, and Garden of Life, My Kind, Tumeric Boost. I toss in a few teaspoons, but I don't really measure. I simmer for 40 minutes, and then I strain it. Today I had a hot cup, but put the rest in mason jars in my refrigerator. Snapple? Energy drinks? My brew is so much better.

I watched an incredible Live Kindly video about vegan sources of Omega 3s. https://youtu.be/lrklZPmcBa0

I finally opened the package I received from Steep and Cheap, which contained my Buff. I hesitate in calling it a scarf, because it does so much. And I am hooked. It kept my face covered as I ran. It was secure, but moved with me the entire time.

I ran for 38 minutes, and 3 seconds for a distance of 2.18 miles. I am currently listening to Becoming, by Michelle Obama. I am loving every word of this book. This woman and I have so much in common, so much. Except for the fact that she went to Princeton and married the president, and I went to a state university and dated an alcoholic. I remain floored by our similarities.

I found a secret vegan burrito shop in my neighborhood. Al Horno Lean Mexican Kitchen at 9112 3rd Avenue in Brooklyn is not exclusively vegan. As a matter of fact, their vegan options are not even printed, but solely on-line. I got a breakfast burrito that was SO GOOD. It immediately brought me back to back to Los Angeles, which has the corner market on random vegan burrito goodness. If you're in the neighborhood, be sure to check them out. Mexican Grill https://www.seamless.com/menu/al-vegano-vegan-mexican-grill-9112-3rd-ave-brooklyn/1431114?utm_source

My nightly wind down routine is getting later, which is a very good thing. One of my new mental health team members was concerned that my winding down was starting way too early, which is why I have trouble sleeping.

I logged 84 ounces of water, 116% of my daily 72 ounce goal.

--------------------------------------

@ommushrooms

@nuunhydration

@buff_usa

@backcountry

@michelleobama

@prabhujis.gifts

@GardenOfLife

www.steepandcheep.com

=============================

The first panic attack was in the middle of Times Square. Ugh. Nothing like needing a moment alone in the middle of a city of nine million people. I was working for Broadway show promoters, handing out flyers on the streets of New York, pushing whatever theater we were trying to fill. At night, I went to balmy at best, Central Park, where I had worked for the previous ten years. Perhaps you've heard of this dead poet I reported to, by the name of Shakespeare. That must explain our not-for-profit status. What the hell was I supposed to do with my English major anyway?

On this particular sweltering hot July day, eight months after Jay had passed, I ran into an actor friend. We were right there on Broadway, in front of that huge, small world after all, Disney Store. He was actually a cast member of The Sopranos, who I met years earlier when we did Much Ado About Nothing in the Park. Ironically, he grew up a few blocks from my mother, in The Bronx, and totally knew where Grandma Bella's candy store was.

He asked me how I was doing. I think I may have told him the big story. You know how memories go. He told me that he was trying to get an organization started, which would encourage its members to visit aging and forgotten nursing home residents. I told him that I would be happy to help in any way that I can, and encouraged him to reach out to me. Even in the blistering temperature, we exchanged a warm goodbye. Jews and Italians, we love to hug.

After he left, I just hunched over. What was happening to me? I literally felt like I was going to die. I was not in physical pain. I kept telling myself that I couldn't breathe, even though I knew that I was. I got myself into an air conditioned hotel lobby and called my therapist, who was able to calm me. She had been on the fence as to whether or not I needed meds. At that point, most of the young widows I had met were on some sort of pharmaceutical. I had managed to skate by until now. But this situation prompted my therapist, a licensed clinical social worker, to appeal to a higher authority, one with the power of a prescription pad.

I was about to be medicated, while my mom politely rang death's doorbell.

humanity
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About the Creator

Karen Lichtman

Plant based. Runner. Young widow.

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