What I Once Hated

"There is no reason why the same man should like the same books at eighteen and forty-eight."  ~Ezra Pound

Just thinking today about how fabulously relieving it is that things do not stay the same. Change is in the wind (seasons, new child, new house, new job....etc. etc.) and I find myself thinking about and release that there is in the possibility of something else. Its great to not be boxed in, eh? I love that about being a grown-up...if you don't like something, you're in charge and you can change it. Gotta love that power over your own destiny.

In that spirit. Here's a lovely little list of things I once thought I hated and now really enjoy:

1. Horseradish. Once a nasty, bitey condiment that made my nose sting repulsively and seemed odd to even to stock in your pantry and now a dearly loved addition to tender beef roast dinners. I have A's family to thank for this one.

2. Sports. I used to be one of those wretched jock-hating, doughy, bitter people who expressed her own lack of physical self-confidence in opposing all sports and sporty people and any vaguely sport-like activity. I grew up. I am still no gym rat or jock-chick but, I hope my sons learn to appreciate sports and try a few of them and I have taken up watching The Super Bowl and keeping my ears pricked about The World Series.
 
3. Poetry. Once upon a time I thought poetry was all eye-rollingly sappy or else make-your-head-hurt boring. Yeah. I'm over that. See: Jane Kenyon, for poetry that can keep me up at night, its so lovely.

4. Sushi. Call it New York City sophistication rubbing off or foodie education or just plain wishful thinking becoming reality. I always tell people that the first time I tried sushi I thought it was disgusting, the second time I choked it down and the third time I thought it was alright but the fourth time I was irreversibly hooked. Its worth it to keep trying something sometimes.

5. Classical music. Put this in the same category as poetry, high class stuff I didn't have any interest in. All my growing up I thought the whole world of classical music was a complete yawn. BOOOORING. And now? I love The Nutcracker at Christmas, feel all cozy about Fur Elise (because its my middle name) and love to hear The Moonlight Sonata or Vivaldi's Four Seasons rippling through the house...I feel like a grown-up.

6. Autobiographies. I remember as a kid my mom urging me to read some autobiographies of people I admired and see what I could learn from their lives and thinking "Puhleeze! Ick!" Fiction seemed like the thing to me when I was growing up. Now, somehow, real life seems so much more exciting and promising than pretend worlds and those who have accomplished great things are incredibly inspiring to me. I read a lot of autobiographical stuff now.

7.  Research. I used to think the very idea that someone could go into such a mind-numbingly boring profession was completely daft. Research? I could hardly think of anything more blah to spend your life on. I keep a mental list of questions I wish I knew the answers to, from medical mysteries to philosophical conundrums that seem statistically answerable, just in case I ever find myself in research. And clearly, I'm a bit of a research hound in my own everyday life too. Chalk it up to "Ways A Has Made Me A Better Person."

8. Petunias. I used to think they were this sort of boring, stinky flower with weird pubescent, sticky stems that were over-used and pathetically fragile. I now appreciate how easily a carefree petunia can fill an empty spot in the annual border and how reliable a standard they are in the garden historically...and also, I found heirloom, scented petunias, a forgotten flower of great brilliance.

9. Canned fish. I always thought these were nasty little, bone-filled, really smelly odd kind of food. And then I discovered, extra tiny sardines, boneless and skinless, packed in olive oil....MMmmmm.....so tasty and so amazingly nutrient dense. The best way to eat them is with a teeny cocktail fork, right out of the tin.

10. My ankles and my forehead. Its true. Once I hated parts of my body so much that I told A I'd have them amputated if there was a plausible way to pull it off. I think, having babies changed the way I felt about my body and getting older and understanding beauty more thoroughly helped me learn how to frame my physical person in more pleasant ways. And I read somewhere that having a high, baldy forehead like mine is a sign of Native American ancestry...(which I have!)...and that made me feel cool.


It feels really good to get older and have your world change. I'm looking forward to even more of it as I go! May the sands ever shift....