At the beginning of the year, I shared with Agam my ideal routine, with the hope and a goal of sticking to it, at least a few times a week. It’s a pretty simple wish list – start the day by myself at 6:00am- a walk, a book or some writing; get breakfast and lunch ready for Tara, head out, work, leave work by 5:00pm, come home and cook a fresh meal, chit chat and play time with Tara and Agam, bed time for Tara, work, read or write, sleep by 10pm. It is amazing how difficult it is to keep this routine. Sigh!

This week, I came home and cooked from scratch on three out of the five nights. I consider that my biggest achievement. I also revived my routine of morning walks. And I finished a book since I was sticking to my bed time reading routine. I declare this week a successful one!

Two books that I had pre-ordered arrived this week. Oh the joy of coming home to a book waiting at your door. Ive already finished The Trillion Dollar Coach. And I cannot wait to get started on The Second Mountain by David Brooks.

I am a David Brooks fan girl. His writing has evolved in the last 15 years and it’s so insightful to see how his divorce impacted his content and style.

Some may call him utopian in how he thinks the world ought to be. To me David writes about the world and its flaws, just as I experience it. It is all too real and too personal for me. For me, David is to non fiction, what Murakami is to fiction. I am excited about The Second Mountain. And I am waiting to be floored by his style of writing and his choice of using the simplest words to describe the most complex of emotions and situations. He is a master of words.

A warm highlight at work was my team picking all sorts of gluten free snacks from the MK and bringing them to my desk. I sometimes wonder if I should share all my joys and sorrows so openly. But when I do, I am rewarded with so much warmth. And we all know I am a sucker for that warmth. Community is a beautiful thing. Bill Campbell was right, invest in communities. My work community has always been a big part of my support system. Google makes it easier to build these communities.