Grilling, procrastinating, graduating, and cicada watching (7 Quick Takes)

~1~

Warmer weather means my husband is grilling dinner more often. I enjoy cooking when I have time, but I welcome having someone else pitching in to make dinner. He made the most wonderful chicken drumsticks the other day, and everyone loved them.

Even with only four people in our family, it’s hard to find meals that satisfy everyone’s tastes. I don’t know how we ended up with so many different tastes in our little household, but here we are.

I’m looking forward to more grilled food—and more nights away from the stove—over the next few months.

~2~

If you’re a regular reader of my weekly 7 quick takes, you know that these are incredibly late. I usually aim for Friday and then publish them on Saturday. I’m just finally getting them together at the end of the weekend. I could try to skip them, but what would be the fun there? Besides, I have a niece who waits for them every week.

~3~

This past week I was incredibly busy at work as we prepared for Loyola University Maryland’s commencement ceremony for the Class of 2020 and Class of 2021. So many people worked to make the ceremony happen—and it was really beautiful to see it all come together. Delivering on the promise of an in-person celebration for those graduates was so important. But there were times when it seemed challenging.

When I realized the date of commencement was St. Rita’s feast day, May 22, though, I had a feeling it would all be just fine. St. Rita is the patron of the impossible, and I tend to turn to her for some of the more complex issues I am navigating. I have been asking her to intercede for the ceremony for our graduates—and for my colleagues, who have been working so hard.

I am in awe of how she has interceded for me this spring on a few different intentions. And the commencement ceremony, which we held at M&T Bank Stadium, was truly magnificent. I’m so grateful that it all went so well.

~4~

One of my responsibilities for commencement is compiling the script for the event and printing and placing the pages in binders. A few years ago, I realized that one of my colleagues had access to an electronic three-hole punch. It punches several pages at once with the single press of a button.

It might not be a miracle, but this three-hole punch is absolutely extraordinary. Not only is it a time saver, but the punched holes also don’t fall all over the floor. They simply disappear.

Technology is a wonderful thing.

~5~

The 17-year cicadas have certainly arrived—and seem to be continuing to arrive—and I’m surprised we don’t have more in our yard.

Some of our neighbors seem to have more than we do. I’m not complaining because I do feel we are getting the full cicada experience.

For some reason, they seem to like the tires on my van.

~6~

I’ve been curious what our pet finches would think of the cicadas. No one in my household seems to think introducing the finches personally to the cicadas is a good idea, so I opened the window to try to let them hear the singing. The finches just got very quiet. I don’t know what that means. If only I could read a finch’s mind.

~7~

Last spring, our neighborhood organized a car parade to celebrate all the graduating students in our neighborhood—from preschool up to college. I loved the idea.

This year, we have a fifth-grader who will be graduating. I managed to persuade him to participate in the parade, and his father decorated the car. When they left the house to go line up for the parade, I realized I had not put anything in our yard to celebrate the grads.

So, I took paper plates, chopsticks, and a marker and created a rather feeble 2021 sign for the yard. The chopsticks slipped easily into the ground. I can only assume that the cicadas had left holes just waiting for my sign installation

The parade was so much fun. I hope we do it again next year. I’ll have my paper plates ready.

Find more quick takes on Kelly’s blog, This Ain’t the Lyceum, where she is full of news.

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