Thursday, September 10, 2015

Delicious, Comforting, Spicy And Good


This is what I decided to make for supper tonight. I knew that Mr. Moon was going to head out to the hunting camp in Georgia and I wanted to make something delicious and comforting and spicy and good for myself.
The recipe is HERE and it's a damn good one although I have substituted one acorn squash and one sweet potato for the butternut, don't ask me why, I just did. There are no recipe police who will bust into your kitchen and haul you to the pokey if you mess with recipes, even from the venerable New York Times.
Know this and feel free to fool around in the kitchen. So to speak.

Right now my soup is in the simmer stage. I have the squash and sweet potatoes simmering with spices and sauteed onions, garlic, and cashews. It smells like heaven. The kitchen is a disaster area because while I was chopping and sauteing I was also making my husband an egg and cheese and bacon sandwich to take with him on the road to Georgia. He's busted his ass six ways from Sunday to get on the road this evening and Vergil came out this afternoon to help him load the deer blinds they've built up in a trailer for him to take with him.
I doubt I've ever seen my husband happier and although that does make me happy too, it is also something I've had to learn to deal with- seeing him so thoroughly thrilled with an adventure that does not involve me in the least way.
I do my best.
And make soup.

Jessie came out with Vergil this afternoon and we got to chat and I gave her that soft, soft dress I got at the Goodwill for her to wear in labor if she wants, if she needs to slip something on if she wants to go outside while she's laboring, which I loved doing when I was having my babies. I liked walking during contractions and I think she may too. If I know my Jessie, she may dance as well. Labor is so full of unknowns- especially for a first-time mama. I have tried to be very honest with my daughters about how difficult it can be. I remind them that even I could do it and in fact, did it four times, and that I know they are strong women and they know the rewards of doing it at home without drugs, if possible. The incredible comfort of being able to take your baby into your arms in your own bed, to be surrounded by loved ones, to be able to welcome this child to life outside the uterus slowly and at your own pace and your baby's pace, uninterrupted by unnecessary and rigid medical protocols with a midwife so sensible and accommodating that all of the things which need to be done are done in such a graceful and unobtrusive way that no one is disturbed. To have the new family of father, mother, and baby (the holy trinity in my religion) treated with the respect it deserves. In the hospital, it is as if there are two patients, the mother and the baby, while the father is tolerated and yet treated almost as lagniappe instead of being given the respect and space with the baby and mother he deserves.

Jessie and I sat on the couch and talked about these things and many more and we stroked each others arms and I was once again amazed at her, the regal and natural way she carries this swelling belly, ripe and filled with life. She astounds me, as does Lily.

It rained today too. I was out in the garden weeding and at first there came heavy drops and I continued on, just happy for the coolness, until it began to rain in earnest and I came in and watched the rain from the porch in great contentment.

Now it is almost time to puree the vegetables and cashews for the soup to mix with coconut milk. The fragrance and joy in making the soup almost make the eating of it unnecessary but I am looking forward to that part too.

I am looking forward to a lot of things. For instance, tomorrow Jessie and I are going with Lily to get one more ultrasound to see if they can make a definitive determination on the sex of Lily's baby. She has already bought up half the girl baby things in Tallahassee (that's a vast exaggeration) and she just wants to know, truly, truly, if she can buy the rest of the girl baby things (another vast exaggeration, sort of).
I feel so incredibly humbled by it all.

Love...Ms. Moon












7 comments:

  1. That post was just as sweet and comforting as I think your soup will be x

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  2. Oh, this baby talk makes me yearn to hold one. I just loved having my babies and then holding them.

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  3. Dearest Mary-How lucky your girls are to have you to guide them. Brought tears to my eyes, it did, reading your sweet enjoyment of their pregnant selves.

    I sat last night with a mamma who was struggling so and crying in pain and wondering if she could do it--she gave me such deep looks and I fed her all the strength I had while telling her she could, she's strong and her beloved child would be in her arms eventually.

    Women and their wisdom. I am still humbled by such glory.

    Great love to you and your beloveds.

    ~Beth

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  4. So much lovely, here and in the comments. Jessie is an Amazon. And, well, her size relative to yours, and her husband's size relative to her dad's... let's hope her babies just pop out gently and sweetly.

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  5. I wish I had had my two babies at home but both mine were born prior to 1980 and it's a wonder they even let me do it without drugs. they whisked my daughter away right off but when my son was born, it was shift change and everyone was ready to go home so they wheeled me and the my son and husband into a side room not being used for the next shift to do whatever and we were alone with him for 20 minutes or so until they found us and took him away.

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  6. When our daughter was born it was all medical-y and scary. I insisted during my second pregnancy that I wouldn't go in until "I could see the head" and that's pretty much how it went. I'd have had ten babies if I knew they'd all be like Gus.
    There needs to be a gender-neutral line of clothing for babies so that people can shop freely AND babies aren't born into stereotypical roles. There's an idea, someone please run with it and don't bother giving me credit, it's just a thought.
    Lol!
    I think I need a craft room day!

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.