Roxanne’s Not-A-Speech Wedding Story
Many of you know that our oldest daughter got married this summer.
It was an event of such family celebration that six weeks later, we’re still riding the high.
During the reception, her father made a lovely speech about change and growth in marriage. (Plus fatherly wisdom and the usual lightly-veiled parental threat of they’ll-never-find-your-body-if-you-ever-hurt-her.)
I heard it for the first time while we were standing at the podium and it made me cry.
I am lucky to be married to such an insightful (and teachable!) man.
I was unlucky to be the following act, especially since I’m lame at speeches.
But I like stories. And since we’re a family of avid readers, it seemed fitting that I read a story that I wrote when our daughters were very young.
A few people have asked about it, and Stephanie has given me permission to share, so here it is:
Initiation
Once upon a time a young couple had a baby. This utterly unremarkable occurrence that happens every day around the globe, ordinary as dirt, was as momentous to them as a meteor hitting the ground. Unbelievable, really, to think that a 6 pound 4 ounce bundle of eyes and limbs and noise could turn a naïve, hesitant girl to mother and a nervous, unprepared boy into a father.
Unbelievable, really, that they were allowed to leave the hospital with her.
These uncertain parents took great pains to learn their new roles. The baby was fed and changed and rocked. The mother played Patty-Cake, read Runaway Bunny, sang Twinkle Twinkle. The father played Choo-Choo with the strained peas and gave tummy raspberries. The baby grew smiley and cuddly and learned to wave her arms to be picked up.
She also learned to spit those strained peas and scream in the grocery store and weep and wail when the lights went out. From the very start, this baby, like all babies, took, took and took. And the parents gave, gave and gave, because that’s what parents do.
Time passed. The little girl grew strong and mobile, and her needs changed. She began to ask questions. Lots and lots of questions. She began to say no. To many, many things. She learned to love Cheerios, to hate her car seat, to become a big sister, to resent sharing, to be excited about vacations, to demand “I wanna go home, I wanna go home,” at bedtime in a hotel.
The mother loved her baby, but sometimes she was afraid, and even angry at how much was required of her. Sometimes, in secret, the father wondered if he was strong enough, or smart enough to do this wonderful, terrifying job. But each night, when they looked at their little girl sprawled crosswise in the bed, her hair every which way, limp with sleep and replete with trust, they felt themselves grow and become somehow… more… than they were before she was born.
One day the mother looked up from her work and saw with a start that the baby who had changed her life had sprouted tall. Her face was steady and knowing, and there was a slender grace to her once-gangly limbs. The mother searched wonderingly for signs of her baby and found her again in the clear blue eyes that sparkled just as they did on the day they first opened on the world.
Then, as the mother watched, she saw this baby-child-woman stoop suddenly to kiss her little sister. The sight of that small, unbidden kindness caused the mother’s heart to leap and swell and with a gasp, she felt all the care, all the giving rush back, bursting upon her like a garden in spring.
The years went on and the parents – naturally – were called upon again and again to give of themselves. But now when they do it returns in a flood, a stream of love looping back, growing swifter, stronger, wider, magnifying and spreading, bringing with it new, fresh gifts and more joy than those parents could have ever imagined.
Once upon a time a young couple had a baby. And she rocked their world.Thank you, Stephanie, for bringing Steven into our lives. We love you both so much!
Bliss-ful Carrot Cake
I love food. I love baking. Ergo, I love recipes.
Also, ergo, I need to exercise a lot more. Soon.
But before then, I’d like to share one of my favorite recipes with you, on this inaugural Favorite Recipes Friday post. My latest book, His Reluctant Rancher, continues the story of Three River Ranch. Two of the characters that populate this world are twins Bliss and Blythe, older women who wander around looking after people, scolding and feeding them as they see fit.
They also nurse a mysterious grudge between them, which will be revealed in time!
In His Reluctant Rancher, Bliss brings the Gamble family a carrot cake that she says is far better than the one Blythe serves at her bed & breakfast. Now, I don’t know Blythe’s recipe, but I do know this one, and it truly rocks. It’s the cake I made for birthdays when my girls were small. Because it’s so chock full of nutrition, I could relax in the knowledge that even if it’s all they ate all day, it would be okay.
“I Wish I Knew How to Quit You, Wheat!”
NOTE: since I first wrote this, I’ve read Wheat Belly, the premise of which is that wheat is responsible for most – if not all – of modern humanity’s pain and suffering. You know, diabetes, high cholesterol, painful joints, fuzzy brain, bad hair, bad moods, slow drains, slugs and possibly that irritating syndrome in which whatever line you’re in always moves slower than the ones beside you. Aaaaanyway. Wheat. I figure I’m carb sensitive but am not quite ready to part with it entirely. We’re working on a trial separation, a weaning situation. The recipe below has been modified to reflect this.
This is from the La Leche League Whole Foods Cookbook. Can you tell that my girls liked to work alongside me? I’ve modified it somewhat, as I almost always do, but here’s the gist:
2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour (I used 1 1/4 cups flour, and 1 cup coconut flour)
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cups oil (I use canola or olive)
3/4 cup liquid honey
5 eggs
3 cups grated carrot (or zucchini, which I haven’t tried, but would probably be great, too.)
1 cup canned unsweetened crushed pineapple (save the juice for the frosting)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup shredded coconut
Mix dry ingredients. Mix wet ingredients. Stir it all together. Put into greased and floured pan of your choice. (This makes a fairly large cake.) Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes. Cool, then frost with cream cheese icing. (Cream cheese, pineapple juice and enough icing sugar to make it taste good.) Then I covered the top with coconut because the frosting seemed a little gooey.
Boom. Bliss-ful Carrot Cake.
A Christmas Letter That Doesn’t Make You Hate Yourself
It’s time for the Annual Christmas Letters to start arriving.
I don’t write one, figuring that if you don’t already know what’s going on with us, we don’t like you that much anyway. Plus, I’m always depressed after hearing about how great everyone else’s lives are. After all, I didn’t put in a pool last year… or save a whale/cure Chlamydia/get my PhD/bear famous offspring/visit an orphanage/run for office/kick the booze/etc.
I’m not the only one who feels this way. Come on people, it’s the darkest time of the year. Get into the spirit! Don’t tell us how great you are; tell us stuff that makes us feel superior! Tell us something like this:
“To our distant relatives and obligatory acquaintances:
We can’t be there to enjoy the sweet-potato-brussel-sprout pie with you all, thanks to that pesky restraining order, so we’ll share the highlights of our past year like this.
First of all, that thing on Dear Hubby’s neck turned out to be benign. What a blessing! They won’t take it off, as it’s no danger, but it scares the grandkids so I made him a scarf. He won’t wear it (he’s grown fond of “Scabby”) but since he’s not around much, it’s okay. (Dear Hubby travels five days a week, which is terrifically satisfying for us both. LOL!)
Speaking of our darling dumplings: our oldest has moved her trailer onto the pad beside ours! She’s now a happily-single mother, since the father of the third one disappeared. I loved him dearly but, to be honest, he was a bit of a felon.
Seriously, I’m such a lucky Grandma to have them constantly underfoot! Turns out we don’t need a fancy “house” to be happy; we just need our wonderful family – and separate TVs, LOL!
Middle child is like a whole new person, since they changed her meds. She’s now pursuing her dream of becoming a taxidermist and if her work on our dearly departed cat, Stink-Eye, is any indication, she’s found her niche. And they said she shouldn’t be around knives!
Just goes to show you, doctors aren’t always right! LOL! (Don’t worry, sis, I know Johnny is a better-than-average doctor. We’re so lucky to have such an accomplished, handsome, smart, sweet nephew in our gene pool. I KNOW.)
Our own baby boy might not be a doctor, but we’re still proud of him! He’s really turned things with his new business venture! We’re not too sure of the details; at first he said it was agricultural. Now he says it involves cooking. Who knows these days? And not to brag, but it sure brings in the cash! Just last week, he bought me a skillet!
Perfect timing because since the menopause, I’ve been a wee bit moody and I find throwing cookware helps. It’s great exercise! LOL! And thanks to the hot flashes, I haven’t had to plug in the heat yet this winter! Bonus!(The beard was a surprise, but I’ll wax when he wears the scarf.)
And now, an announcement: I’ve started my own business! I’ll have more details when the kit arrives but for now let’s just say that it could put Dr. Johnny out of business! LOL!
Seriously, I believe in this product 110% and I know you will too. Also, I’ll be making $4000 a week – and without a medical degree! LOL!
But of course, it’s not about the money – it’s all about giving back. I just feel blessed to be doing what I’m meant to do, brightening my little corner of the world.
Love and Merry Christmas from our trailer park to yours!”
You see? Nothing lifts the spirits like a little seasonal Schadenfreude! (Although rum-and-egg-nog works, too.)
Tell us your favorite guilty Christmas pleasure before December 14 – one lucky commenter will win a $25 Amazon gift card!
And don’t forget to hop over to the other Entangled author blogs! There are lots of other prizes to be won!