Photo-shoot dreams, dragons, beef stew, and more (7 Quick Takes)

~1~

Last night I looked at my calendar for today and realized I had signed the boys up for a photo shoot outside our elementary school. I knew we wouldn’t have school photos otherwise, and our boys are growing so fast.

Overnight I dreamed that we had gone to the photo shoot, which was in a different place. I lost track of our boys, found them again, couldn’t get the car to start, and looked down at my feet to realize I was wearing my fluffy llama slippers.

After a dream like that, I was sure the shoot would go off without a hitch. Then, of course, I waited until the last minute to get us ready to go out the door and couldn’t find my car keys anywhere.

I finally decided we would walk, but that would still leave us without a house key, so I called John to ask him to come home on time so we wouldn’t be sitting outside in the dark.

When we arrived at school, I realized it was cash or check only (sigh), but a kind mom at the registration table let me Venmo her my fee and covered me with a check. The actual photo-taking was unremarkable, and I figured we would meander home.

“We can take our time,” I said, “because we’re just going to sit outside.”

“Actually, I left the back door unlocked,” said our 10-year-old with a mischievous smile.

Now, why didn’t I think of that?

~2~

One of the hardest things about having a birthday that’s a month after your brother’s is waiting for your gifts. Every year we seem to struggle with this.

This year, we have COVID to deal with on top of everything else. COVID somehow takes away all the fun. I’ve been hearing phrases like, “On my next birthday after COVID, I want to….”

Somehow, in the midst of the COVID laments, our younger son talked me into ordering him this giant stuffed dragon he has been wanting. The deal was that I would hold onto it after it arrived. Or so I thought.

Then the box landed on our porch. It was smaller than a refrigerator, but not by much. As I watched our son dancing around the house with joy, I knew we were starting birthday celebrations early—yet again. Life is short. How often does a dragon appear at your house?

“On your actual birthday, I might just hand you some M&Ms,” I said.

He says he’s fine with that. He’s happy as can be.

~3~

Speaking of not wanting to wait, are you decorating early for Christmas? I think we’ll stick to our usual schedule. I like decorating later and leaving our decorations up later, especially because January and February always feel drearier than November and December.

That said, I enjoy Christmas lights year-round, and I think we should do whatever brings us a little extra joy and light.

~4~

In what might seem like a pandemic purchase but is actually not that surprising, we ordered a Christmas stocking for our finches. I figure they can share one, and I hope they’ll agree. We found a zebra finch stocking online, and it arrived this week. The finch on it looks quite a bit like our finch Ron.

What will the finches get for Christmas? Maybe millet spray and an ear of corn and birdseed and an extra perch or two. It’s hard to tell. With finches, anything is possible.

Speaking of finches, I just realized this week that this poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins, Pied Beauty, includes a reference to finches’ wings. I think it would be perfect to read while standing by the finches’ cage on Thanksgiving Day.

~5~

It’s soup weather, so this week I made a big pot of beef stew. Soup stretches so far that I really need to start freezing half when I make it—or leaving a container of soup on someone’s porch.

As I started making the stew, I realized we were out of potatoes. So, I called my mother to see whether we could borrow a few potatoes. She and my father drove the 15 minutes to our house to bring them to us. Then, when I tried to replace the potatoes a few days later, she wouldn’t let me.

Family is the best. The stew was pretty good, too. I used this recipe, and I added some red wine and a spoonful of Better than Boullion.

~6~

It’s National Adoption Month, and my brother-in-law George asked me to do an interview about adoption for Catholic Review Radio. The interview will be broadcast on Sunday and will be available on the Catholic Review website as a podcast on Monday. I was honored—and a little intimidated because I am more of a writer than a speaker.

Then, this week, after I published a poem about sauerkraut, I got an email from a program director for Cardinal Timothy Dolan’s Sirius XM radio show asking me if I would come on the air on Tuesday, Nov. 24, at 2:30 p.m. to talk briefly about sauerkraut and adoption.

I was so surprised that I had to read the email five times before it made sense. Have I become an expert on sauerkraut and adoption? They are topics I can discuss at some length.

The interview will also be taped for TV by Catholic Faith Network. I’m excited and nervous and trying to think of the best place to do the interview. I could Zoom from my kitchen and have a pot of sauerkraut to show, but it would probably be safer to take a plate of sauerkraut and hide in some distant corner of the house, far away from finches and others who might make noise.

I’ll let you know how it goes. Or maybe you’ll listen in.

~7~

One of our nephews turned 11 this week, and while I was chatting with him on the phone, I asked what his favorite Thanksgiving food is.

“Pie,” he said.

“What kind?”

“Pumpkin.”

“With whipped cream?”

“Oh, yes,” he said.

That’s my godson. I’m so proud. Bring on the pumpkin pie with extra whipped cream.

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

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