Apparently last week I missed the boat and didn’t wish all of you Mother’s a wonderful Mother’s Day. This week the wishes are as sincere and well intentioned as if they were sent to you on time.
Might we charge it up to my white hair? Last week my daughter stopped in to borrow a roaster she needed for our weekend festivities. My first remark to her was that I was afraid that my memory was in worse condition than I thought. After her concerned “now what did you do?”, I calmly informed her that I cooked my breakfast and forgot to eat it!! Really, I cooked my regular serving of oatmeal in the microwave and a great deal later I rescued it, but it was stone cold! I retrieved myself by telling her exactly where the roaster pan was in the basement. After she found it immediately, I got a reprieve of some more time to live alone. In the future, I will keep little incidents like that to myself.
We celebrated the weekend a little differently this year. At a daughter’s suggestion, for Mother’s Day we planned a gathering of all who could make it on that day to have a “work” day for me to do things that I can no longer do myself. For lunch we planned stone soup. Have you ever heard of stone soup? The idea originated in a poverty stricken area where people were going hungry, with some people in the village hoarding food. A visitor told them he was going to make stone soup, so he put a stone in some boiling water, tasted it and remarked how delicious it was, but it would be so much better if he had some cabbage. A wealthy man in the group hesitantly admitted he had more cabbage than he needed and he would donate a head. The visitor proceeded the same way with other vegetables and they ended up with enough soup to feed the whole group. It was really a message In sharing what God has given us rather than selfishly hoarding it all for ourselves. So from this parable we had stone soup. I started the pot with boiling water and a fresh stone from the landscaping in front of my house. Each volunteer to work brought oxtail and beef roast, carrots, cabbage, tomatoes, onions, etc. It was an interesting experience, a lot of fun and solved the dilemma of what are we going to eat. I do not cook for Mothers’ Day, but I did manage to produce some Ranger and Sugar Cookies.
We spent too much time sorting photographs, placing them in individual shoe boxes for each family directly involved in the photo. As time was fleeting we discarded that project and did some landscape improving and emptied a room upstairs where I put things I didn’t use but did not want to throw away. It was a very successful venture. I have two garbage bags ready for next Friday’s pickup, a carful that went to Goodwill and a small pile that I am allowed to keep. Really we found two nice bedspreads that I had forgotten about and were better than the one I had on my bed. So now I am sleeping cozily under a “new” one and my faithful one that I purchased years ago at a garage sale went by the wayside. A daughter who could not make it on Saturday, came today and wondered if God would mind if she washed the windows on the front porch even if it were Sunday. Now what could I do but convince her that she was performing a corporal work of mercy and would certainly be forgiven? During all of this I recalled my youngest sister’s comment after she became a widow that she could handle all of the things she had to do, but what was difficult was the things that needed done that she could not physically handle anymore. Maybe those of you who have elderly parents, or even neighbors, can take a good look and have some serious thoughts about what you can do in this situation.
One task that I can no longer do is maintain the landscaping beside my garage, mostly because I cannot walk on the stones. A daughter spent time and a lot of energy getting it to look much, much better and now I can see that there is a bit of rhubarb left, where there used to be a lot. So that reminded me that I had saved this rhubarb recipe, but do not remember, here I go again, to whom I should give credit. Can’t recognize the handwriting and it is not signed, but that won’t affect the taste.
RHUBARB DELIGHT
2 cups chopped fine rhubarb
½ cup sugar
1 package (3 oz.) sugar free Jello
1 tablespoon Sweet and Low
8 oz. whipped topping
4 tablespoons water
Simmer rhubarb, water, sugar and sweetener until tender. (15 minutes). Add Jello. Let cool until starts to thicken. Add whipped topping, Chill. Can be placed in a baked pie shell or served alone.
For you who live alone or do not like leftovers, here is an unusual recipe for meatloaf for two servings.
SWISS CHEESE MEAT LOAF
1 bacon strip cut into thirds
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup crushed butter flavored crackers
5 tablespoons shredded Swiss cheese
4 ½ teaspoons chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ teaspoon salt and rubbed sage, each
½ pound lean ground beef
Cook bacon over medium heat for 2 minutes on each side, but not crisp. Drain on paper towel. Combine egg, crackers cheese, onion, garlic and salt. Crumble meat over mixture and mix well. Shape into a loaf and place in a 6 x 3 x 2 inch pan. Place bacon strips over top. Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Sprinkle top with 1 tablespoon Swiss cheese, bake 4 minutes longer. Yields two servings.
One of God’s greatest gifts is the privilege being a mother. Respond to it’s blessings and responsibilities to the best of your ability, thus creating many magic moments for both you and your child.
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