Enjoying zucchini, a mediocre birthday gift, summer goals, and a special anniversary (7 Quick Takes)

~1~

One of my son’s friends gave me three enormous zucchinis from his garden, and I was so excited to see how we could use them. We don’t have a vegetable garden, mostly due to time and partly due to the enthusiastic wildlife in our yard. These were the largest zucchini I had ever seen.

I sautéed one with some onions and served it with pasta one day for lunch and it was delicious. Then we cut some up for kabobs two nights in a row.

Kabobs might be the perfect meal. I do a little chopping and marinating, and then John assembles the skewers and handles the grilling. And grilled zucchini is so tasty.

~2~

Then I thought of zucchini bread. I found a zucchini bread recipe on Sally’s Baking Addiction that she says originated with her husband’s family, and that the recipe won a prize at the Maryland State Fair.

Who can resist a recipe that won a prize at the Maryland State Fair? And it said you could add chocolate chips, so I was totally on board with that. I made a loaf, and it was delicious.

I didn’t want to eat the whole thing, so I took it to my sister Treasa, and she marketed it as “Chocolate Chip Bread” to her children. That seemed to be more successful than my attempt. In fairness, my children saw the zucchini and knew what I was making. But they don’t know what they missed.

~3~

Our niece in New England turned 6 this week, and I sent her a stuffed unicorn full of little baby unicorns as her gift. We called to sing to her, and I was making conversation—the way you do on a birthday.

“Was our gift the best gift?” I asked.

“Well,” she said, thoughtfully, “I did get some that were better.”

It made me laugh because of course my question was not a fair one. But after we hung up, her mother sent me a video of our niece opening our gift with radiant joy and unparalleled enthusiasm.

I think we did OK.

~4~

One of my goals for the summer has been to introduce our sons to Indian food. I don’t remember why it became a goal, but it did. We met good friends at Café Spice to enjoy the buffet there, which is always so good. I hadn’t been there since well before the pandemic started, but I’ve gone a few times in the past with friends and always loved it.

One of my sons loved the naan and the other loved the rice, and the rest of us seemed to like basically everything.

Fortunately, I didn’t set many other goals for the summer—and the others I’ve mostly forgotten. So, we’ll just call this summer a win. But wow, it has really flown by.

~5~

The other night we were getting ready to head to bed, and I had this funny feeling that someone was watching me. I glanced outside, and there were three deer standing in our yard—and one was looking toward our door, watching us move around inside.

We stood and watched the deer nibbling away on our grass under the streetlamp, and it felt so magical.

~6~

A few weeks ago, we had our rugs picked up and cleaned, and this week they were returned. It feels good to have them back, even though it was also fun to have them gone for a few weeks. They seem much cleaner, though I can never decide how much is psychological and how much is real.

Still, they’re back, and we have new pads underneath them, which is somehow exciting. I guess I really am officially a grownup if I am this excited about rugs and padding.

~7~

Eleven years ago, we met our younger son in a government office in China. You can imagine and dream of that day as much as you want to, but nothing prepares you for the extraordinary emotions of holding your child for the first time, and the joy of getting to know him bit by bit over those first few days.

At Sunday Mass this week, our son—now 12—was sitting next to me as we watched a baby boy, Alexander, getting baptized. Somehow seeing this little child being baptized flooded me with emotions—the amazingness of how God brings families together, the beauty that comes with learning more about your child each day, and the wonder of the love of a family. I never knew our son when he was that age, but he was loved even then—and he has even more people to love him now.

During the Consecration, I whispered, “Look! Look!” to try to remind my son to focus on what was happening on the altar. He smiled and whispered back, “Look! Look!” back to me, gesturing toward the miracle unfolding before our eyes. And then we looked together, taking in the bread and the wine becoming Jesus’ body and blood.

It struck me that so much of parenthood is witnessing miracles—seen and unseen—and marveling at how God is at work in each day.

I had tears in my eyes going to Communion. I am so very blessed.

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