Mountain Mama

30 Days of Thanks::21

   

Today I am thankful for...

my cozy cabin on a cold cold day;

staying in;

letting go of any agenda;

letting the day flow. 

30 Days of Thanks::19

Today I am thankful for getting one of my camera lenses back. It's not perfect and has a rattling it didn't have before, but it works...and I can use it. Just in time for the holidays.

30 Days of Thanks::18

Today I am thankful for...

the relief of ibuprofen after an all-day headache,

and, quite simply, for life.

I am reminded, lately, of just how fleeting and what a miracle life really is...

as a family here struggles to understand the death of a young mother of two, killed in an accident two miles from my house, while doing ordinary motherhood things, perhaps distracted with young children in the car, pulling out too soon at a stop sign;

and as one of the nicest, most positive, healthiest people I have ever known struggles with breast cancer, going in tomorrow for her second surgery in two weeks, because they didn't get it all the last time;

and as I lie across the bed with Paul after supper, talking, and the girls run in and pile on top of us, calling for a "family hug," giggling with joy.

Yes, I am thankful for the simple gift of life.

One thing they never tell you before you become a mother...

is that you will eat your words again and again. And that you will look back on statements you said about motherhood and realize just how asinine they, and you, were.

Things like: "I can't stand to see a baby running around in public in nothing but a diaper. I mean, really, can't you put pants on the kid?"

and

"I hate to see a baby in public all dirty-faced. You can wipe their faces, can't you?"

Oh, yes, I made the above stupid, arrogant statements (or something similar) when I was living a married, no-kid life (a life I barely remember, even though it lasted five years).

And today I had the opportunity to eat those very words.

Scene: Wal-Mart. The new fabulous Wal-Mart in the next town over seems to have no two-kid shopping carts, so I have Owen in the basket and Barrett in the seat. I'm piling my groceries around them. Owen has dressed herself this morning and is wearing some cute pink pants and shirt with a "new" hand-me-down fleece. I dressed Barrett in a pretty onesie turtleneck shirt under denim overalls with a  fleece over all of it. In my haste to get them out of the door, I did not check her diaper to see if she needed a change.

So, running around the store, I notice she's starting to smell funky and I head for the family restroom in the back. As I take her out of the cart seat, however, she starts to pee...into a full diaper and out of the full diaper onto her onesie and overalls and cart seat and floor. Great.

In the family restroom, I strip her down and find that I have nothing in my diaper bag except one of Owen's emergency pull-ups. I can either leave her in soaking wet clothes, or just take them off. So I put the pull-up diaper on her, leave her in her socks and shoes, pull the fleece over her, and let her go bare-legged through the store.

The words, "Can't you put pants on the kid?" are echoing in my head.

Fast forward a few minutes and Barrett has realized it's close to lunchtime. She's pitching a fit. The second in a week in a store. The last time I had to abandon my grocery trip, cut my losses, and check out without the stuff I needed. This time I decide to go for a distraction. I notice a pack of candy canes and grab them, tearing them open and handing her one. Then one for Owen.

As I finish my shopping and head for the check-out I glance at the two kids...and then look again. Both faces are covered with sticky candy-cane mess, topped with a little fuzz from their fleece jackets. And I am, of course, out of wipes.

I kept thinking about the scene in the movie Evan Almighty, where Morgan Freeman, as God, is speaking to Evan Baxter's wife (played by Lorie Graham). He tells her that when someone prays for patience, God doesn't just grant them patience, He gives them the opportunity to practice patience.

Perhaps today was an opportunity for me to practice a little humility. Or maybe it was patience. I'm not sure, but I am thankful for the lesson.

And for family restrooms: one of the best modern inventions for parents everywhere.

Soup Sunday #3

Paul generally doesn't care for creamy soups. Or potatoes, for that matter (although he doesn't mind them, necessarily, it's just the heavy starch he doesn't approve). And neither of us can really have potatoes on our diet right now. But my dad is a real fan of comfort foods, mostly in the form of pasta dishes and creamy soups laden with meat and potatoes. In other words, those verboten carbohydrates. He also tends to grow a lot of potatoes in the garden. So, a couple of months ago I found myself with a big pile of Dad's garden potatoes and nothing really to do with them. Knowing I didn't want to string them over several meals (although that would have been an economical thing to do with them, I suppose), I went searching for a good, fast, not-too-creamy, use-a-lot-of-potatoes soup. I came across this recipe. And found it to be really quite good. In fact, I loved it. Dad ate two servings. Owen liked it. Even Paul liked it. Now you can try it.

Quick and Easy Potato Soup (from AllRecipes.com)

3/4 pound bacon, diced

1 medium onion, chopped

8 potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

1 medium carrot, grated

5 cups water

1 (12oz) can evaporated milk

2 Tbs butter or margarine

4 1/2 Tbs minced fresh parsley

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp ground mustard

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

In a large skillet, cook bacon and onion. Drain and set aside. In soup pot, cook the potatoes and carrot in water for 20 minutes or until tender (do not drain). Stir in the remaining ingredients and the bacon mixture. Cook for 10 minutes or until heated through.

As with everything, I didn't take too much care in measuring, just threw everything in by eying it. For extra flavor, I used chicken broth (or you could use vegetable broth) in place of some of the water. And I added garlic (of course) with the bacon mixture and some Emeril's Essence seasoning with the spices. I topped it with fresh chives from our garden.

The nutmeg makes this soup smell wonderful while cooking and the touch of cayenne gives it a bit of a kick. The evaporated milk in place of cream makes for a lighter base and the carrots give it an extra touch of color and vitamin boost.

All-in-all it is an easy, filling, satisfying soup when you're in need of a quick dose of comfort.

Enjoy!

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Today I am thankful for the blessings of extended family--aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents--for my girls.

And for hand-me-down clothing from friends and family. Owen has been outfitted well for the past year and into the next couple of years with clothing given to us by my dear friend Laura and now by Owen's cousin Eilah. Both of my girls have nice Lands End winter coats this year because of Laura and lovely Christmas dresses from hand-me-downs (Barrett from Owen, Owen from Eilah). The clothes are in great shape, are good quality, and look great. Owen truly enjoys "going shopping" in the storage bins as I sort through them each season, discovering new things she can now wear.

30 Days of Thanks::15

Today I am thankful for...

a $5 tea set;

a day's worth of tea parties;

fancy dress, fancy shoes; and

a guest list that includes a dolphin, a horse, a flamingo, a rabbit, a duck, an elephant, Mommy, Daddy, Paco, and, reluctantly, Little Sister.

A Saturday at home. The blessing of ordinary life. Not to be taken for granted.

30 Days of Thanks::14

"I cannot decide whether it is an illness or a sin, the need to write things down and fix the flowing world into one rigid form. Bear believed writing dulled the spirit, stilled some holy breath. Smothered it. Words, when they've been captured and imprisoned on paper, become a barrier against the world, one best left unerected. Everything that happens is fluid, changeable. After they've passed, events are only as your memory makes them, and they shift shapes over time. Writing a thing down fixes it in place surely as a rattlesnake skin stripped from the meat and tacked to a barn wall. Every bit as stationary and every bit as false to the original thing. Flat and still and harmless. Bear recognized that all writing memorializes a momentary line of thought as if it were final.

But I was always word-smitten. Always reading in a book or writing in a journal."

                                                    --Charles Frazier, thirteen moons

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Today I am thankful for...

words, books, the thoughts of others captured on the page.

For I, too, am word-smitten.

30 Days of Thanks::13

 

Today I am thankful for:

a job that I love;

students I enjoy teaching; and

the ability to work part-time,

so that I can be with my kids more days than not,

while still doing something that provides extra fulfillment and satisfaction (and money).

The view from my office building doesn't hurt, either:

I am also immensely thankful for those who allow me to do this:

Mom, who cares for my children while I am at work and without whom I couldn't work outside the home;

My kids, whose enthusiastic greetings at the end of my work days make me nearly burst with happiness; and

Paul, who fully (and happily) supports my schedule despite the fact that he is working full-time while attending graduate school in order to both support our family and do a job that he loves. And who remains, through it all, an attentive husband and involved father.

30 Days of Thanks::12

 

Today I am thankful for...

a girls' day out, with my mom, Owen, and Barrett.

We visited a favorite pottery shop and the potter/proprietor invited us back to his work area, gave Owen some clay, let her press it into a leaf mold to make a tile, and showed her how he makes trays and plaques and other items. He even invited us to see his kilns. Owen was afraid of getting burned, so as a souvenir he gave her a little dragon, something he uses to test the heat in the kiln. He etched her initials in the back of the tile she made and said he would fire it for her, she can come back in about a week and get it. He explained to Owen much about the process of making things from clay and he spoke in a way she could understand. He was very nice to all of us, but especially to Owen.

 She told him all about our fall table (explaining in great detail what it is and what kinds of things go on it) and how she's going to be an artist and make books (write and illustrate them).

It was that way everywhere we went on our girl's day out. In one shop, she introduced herself as Owen "the artist", and went on to introduce Barrett and Grandma in turn (I was outside). In another she admired aloud to the shop owner an owl pattern on a purse. I love watching that girl in action as she engages people.

So I am also thankful for the kindness and warm welcome from the small business owners we encountered today.

And for Owen, who never fails to make me proud to know her.

30 Days of Thanks::11

Today I am most thankful for:

My mom,

who makes my household run smoothly,

who quietly gives and serves and helps in so many ways.

Who, rightfully, is adored by my children.

Thank you, Mom, for all you do for me, for us.