2021 Life Logs, Day 114: First Soccer Saturday Since Fall 2019
Date: Saturday, April 24, 2021
Weather: Sunny, Winds Building; High 65, Low,46 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Most of my day was spent at the soccer field . . . for the first time since the fall of 2019. It was hard to believe that it has really been a year and half since the last soccer game. But, surprisingly, even with Covid ‘adjustments, today felt ‘almost’ normal. Only two adults were allowed per player and everyone, including the players, wore masks. Those of us on the side lines also used physical distancing. But since all of that seems normal these days, I hardly noticed. But what I did notice was how much all of the boys have changed in the last year and a half. They are all so much taller! Jonah has continued to practice and play some games this school year with a different league, but most of the boys have not played in a game since the fall of 2019. They are not really playing competitively this spring. The local Falmouth travel league has simply lumped the kids together by grade levels. The teams are large enough that they can divide in half and play against each other. So due to Covid, there is no traveling, but at least the kids get to play. Again, even that seems normal these days.
Ollie had a game at 9 am, Jonah at 10:30 am, and Sam at 1:30. I came home between Jonah’s game and Sam’s to walk with Shadow and grab some lunch. Then after Sam’s game, I hurried to a local plant nursery to buy a few more herbs and then headed home to walk with Shadow again. I spent an hour proofreading the first half of the latest chapter I completed in the Voyage of Windbird. Then I spent the rest of my evening listening to the audio presentations of the first day of the Food Revolution Network’s Spring 2021 Summit. Today’s topic was: How Food Can Change Your Life. The evidence becomes more obvious and convincing each year. We all need to be eating a plant-based diet. I am not there yet, but presentations I listened to this evening were very convincing. There are three hours of presentations each day, but I listened to only two from this first day of the Summit tonight. Dean Ornish, MD, the “father of lifestyle medicine,” gave critical insights on how the right diet and lifestyle can address chronic conditions like heart disease, cancer, and dementia. He reviewed the differences between preventing and reversing disease and shared some of the top insights he’s gleaned in forty plus years on the leading edge of the lifestyle medicine movement. I actually only listened to about half of his presentation. Not because I wasn’t interested, but because I had heard most of it before and because there just weren’t enough hours left in my day. But then I was riveted by the presentation of William Li, MD. He is brilliant and shared his stunning research on food and COVID-19 outcomes—all new information to me. He shared what to eat (and what not to eat!) if you want to build a healthy immune system. His book, “Eat to Beat Disease: The New Science of How Your Body Can Heal Itself” is one that every household should have as a reference book. My copy is in large print and is about three inches thick and every single page is jam-packed with vital information. I would love to organize a study group focusing on Dr. Li’s work. Anyone want to join me?
