Happy rutabaga to you, virtual back-to-school night, and more (7 Quick Takes)

~1~

We had two birthdays in our family this week, my mother’s and my 9-year-old nephew’s.

My mother doesn’t celebrate her birthday—and never has—but I always give her a gift. I ordered a few gifts for her, but they didn’t come in time. Luckily I happened to be grocery shopping, and I saw the most beautiful rutabagas. They were enormous and waxy and everything you hope a rutabaga might be.

I snatched them up, had to explain to the cashier that these odd waxy globes would be listed not under “turnip,” but under “rutabaga,” and I went home and wrapped them as a gift. My mother loves rutabaga, and you can’t always find it. She was delighted. And her little grandchildren who watched her unwrap these funny looking items were definitely intrigued.

There are three kinds of people in the world: people who love rutabaga, people who love giving rutabaga as gifts, and people who can’t believe I would write so many words about rutabaga.

~2~

Because produce makes such a wonderful gift, I was delighted when, just a few days later, I received a free box of fresh, local produce from a friend when I stopped by the Govans Farmers’ Market.

We are enjoying peaches, apples, potatoes, peppers, zucchini, and—if I can figure out what to do with it—kale.

I have been thinking that I should try to make the kale into something delicious that will expand my children’s palates, but I’m not sure it’s worth the effort.

~3~

We had our virtual Back to School Night this week, and it was everything I dreamed it would be. My husband did laundry and other important tasks around the house while I logged into both children’s computers and attended their classes.

I only missed two—one because the log-in code wouldn’t work, and one where I realized I would have the teacher all to myself for my younger son, so I couldn’t also listen in on my older son’s teacher’s presentation.

It was glorious. All back-to-school nights should be virtual.

The icing on the cake was when the principal emailed to tell us how many people had attended, and I realized he had counted me twice. I felt like I had beat the system.

Victories all around.

~4~

We did not eat kale on Back to School Night. We had to eat whatever was fast and easy because the presentation was supposed to start at 6:30, and I didn’t leave until after 6. So, maybe I didn’t win the whole evening. But there were fries.

~5~

Each of these takes is written during one round of pancake-making. I drop the batter in the pan, go to my laptop, write a take, and go back and hope the pancakes aren’t burned. So far, so good, but they are all different levels of cooked-ness.

Even when I’m not writing while cooking, my pancakes tend to be inconsistent.

~6~

I met friends for lunch this week in the same restaurant where we had lunch before the pandemic.

Although it feels that our carefree, mask-less days of the summer have been left behind (for now), it felt so good to be with them and try to reclaim our corner of the world in person.

For whatever reason, many of the takes this week are food-related.

~7~

One of my favorite things about working for a Catholic university is being able to go to the 12:10 Mass sometimes. It can be hard to fit in, especially since my office isn’t on the main campus, so I’m not always there. But when I do, it’s wonderful, and I really feel that my spirit has been nurtured.

I went on Friday for the Mass remembering those whose lives were lost on Sept. 11, 2001, and it was so restorative. It made me even more determined to get to daily Mass when I can.

This will be a very full semester, especially since I’ve started grad school, but that probably means I need daily Mass more than ever.

I hope you are finding things to do for yourself, too.

Read more quick takes on Kelly’s blog, This Ain’t the Lyceum, and have a wonderful week.

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