You probably think I lost my mind with a title like that, so let me tell you a story.
When I moved into the Frobbit House last year, one of the first things I discovered was that there was absolutely no food delivery service. I quickly resigned myself to a life without fast-food, which is not a bad thing at all, but sometimes at the end of a long and stressful day at work you just want to kick back and dive into a box of hot, gooey pizza. While I lived in Vila Franca de Xira this was not a problem at all, since the AirBnB I lived in was conveniently located above a pizza parlour. Up here in the mountains, where even the delivery people struggle to find me, there was no chance, not even with Über Eats. I already considered myself extremely fortunate that my groceries get delivered, so I didn’t want to push my luck and dove right into homesteading and cooking from scratch.
Fast-forward one year and suddenly I have food delivery service! This was my great discovery this past weekend and much to my delight, I ordered a huge pizza and garlic bread. Did I care that the pizza was way to big for me to consume alone? Absolutely not! Re-heated or cold pizza has always been a thing in my home, going back to my elementary school days. The point is that it was an absolute joy to see the app light up with the order confirmation. Have I become the ultimate hermit country bumpkin? Probably, but these are the moments I realised how much of the metropolitan life I took for granted. I am incredibly grateful for the little things now, and delivery service in any form to my little hamlet is a blessing. Even the hardware store delivers my pellets for the chimney!
Anyway, back to the pizza – 15 minutes after placing the order the app informed me that Pedro from Über Eats was picking up my order and would be arriving within the next 20 minutes. Wow, true to form, a fellow as round as the pizza he was delivering rolled up in his motorcycle carrying the signature neon green thermal food backpack and it took great restraint on my part not to run out and hug him. My pizza was sinfully delicious and still piping hot when Cherry and I dove in. Yes, you read that right, Cherry shared the pizza, and so did some of the other cats. I got the main slices with shrimp, Cherry claimed the ham, and the outsiders got the crusts. I suppose you could technically call it a successful pizza party, with one human and six cats.
There was plenty of pizza left over for the next day, so you can guess what my dinner the next day was. This of course was a wonderful precursor to the First Sunday of Advent, giving me even more reasons to be grateful for my life, lifestyle, and the freedom I enjoy now. Sure, sometimes there are weeks when I only speak to one human being face-to-face, and the trips down to Lisbon are few and far between, but it is exactly the way I like it. I like to describe it as a one living the quiet contemplative life in a convent – but even the nuns and the monks enjoy an escapade outside the cloistered walls from time to time, or visits from the outside world. Did I plan on this or even imagine this would be my goal in life? Not even in my wildest dreams, especially after all the decades of being the active expat always in the thick of things. But the universe has a funny way of leading you to your intended path, so you can discover a completely different lifestyle and realise that it is absolutely perfect, the one you never knew you wanted.
Life isn’t about the fancy trappings anymore, but rather celebrating the simple things and minute details that make such a difference in your daily existence. It is about being mindful of the generosity and kindness of those who touch my life, appreciating the effort put in by the delivery people who manage to find me all the way up here (first-comers are always grumpy), but most of all, being grateful for living my dream.
FrogDiva Thoughts 