Eating at my desk is never a good idea. I remember telling the Year 9 Dean last year (when she was still thinking of taking the job) that the one thing she had to try to make an effort to do every day is to leave the office to eat her lunch – to go to the staffroom for some space with her thoughts. For nothing else than to let your brain process your latest conversation, let the ideas settle in or to help important information install itself in your permanent files. Because what we do all day mainly is talk to people. Talk to students; see they are safe and happy and not being dicks to anyone. Talk to teachers; listen to and help them with issues in your cohort, and make sure they aren’t being dicks to any of your girls. Talk to parents; listen to their concerns, ask about their girls and make sure they aren’t being dicks. Talk to each-other about how we can approach a certain issue or student concern, talk to SLT about things we are dealing with in our cohort. How to try not to be a dick ourselves. You get the idea.

But. Some days. Some days it is easier to eat your lunch at your desk in the quiet – rather than risk getting bailed up in the staffroom about one of your girls – you guessed it – being a dick. So I keep making a hypocrite of myself – and the year 9 Dean keeps catching me eating my lunch at my desk. Get better work stories.

But the point of my post is to talk about what I ate. Today I went for the first run I have been on in nearly a year. I used to tootle round the neighbourhood for 30 – 45 mins a time 5 or 6 times a week. Longer runs when I was ‘training’ for the Auckland Marathon. An ex of mine who remains a friend once told me that all women of a certain age with kids run a marathon at least once – that it’s a sad and inevitable part of reaching middle age. There’s a reason he’s an ex. But I digress.

The run was good, and Arty was thrilled. He has missed our runs a lot and the grumpy Dutchman reckons he’s putting on weight (but he fat-shames our cat too so we all just ignore him mostly). We managed my old 5km route, slowly, and both of us were amped when we got back.

Until I realised that because we had leftovers last night I had nothing for lunch. Panic stations! I fell back on a favourite of mine that I had a lot last year when I was avoiding raw food, salads etc.

I stir fried in avocado oil – green beans, broccolini, red and yellow capsicum, garlic, spring onion and courgettes together. Added chunks of fresh salmon towards the end. Mixed up with sunflower seed, pumpkin seeds and baby spinach in my lunchbox and was good to go. I packed half an avocado to chop in to it when I got to school. Now this breaks two rules for me – raw spinach and whole seeds. But so far so good, no pain and no bloating. I am thinking that small doses will be ok.

It’s a bright, colourful bowl of yum. Salt and pepper to taste of course.

And it kept me full right through ‘meet the teacher’ at school – which is like an awkward singles night where you stand around with a name tag hoping a parent will approach so you can chat with them while their daughter stands directly behind them desperately miming to you not to tell their folk how they ‘really are’ in class. Ha! Like you have any secrets child. Mwaahhahahaha.