Tuesday, September 27, 2022

How Do I Even Describe A Day Like This?


And today it is this woman's birthday. I love this picture. I think Jessie took it one Mother's Day that she and Lily got a fancy hotel room for the day and night and celebrated by having a tiny bit of fun and freedom. I think she was happy. 

Here's another favorite picture of mine. 


Maggie loving her mama at Costco. 

I remember the day Lily was born so well. It was not an easy labor. None of mine are. I remember waking up in the wee hours and realizing, "This is it," and it was and it became a beautiful September day, cool and with the bluest sky. The midwife who had been with me for my labor with Hank and with May was there and she was calm and strong as things got iffy at the end. Lily had her little hand up by her head and she was a brawny child- 10 lbs, 2 oz, and there was shoulder dystocia (meaning her head was born but the shoulders did not want to follow) and when I did get her born, she needed a little bit of encouragement to start up but she did, obviously, with the help of that angel midwife, and as she turned rosy pink and began to cry, everyone in the room finally took a breath too, and there she was- my Lily. 
Glen and I had only been married for eleven months and bless his heart- he had not been prepared for how childbirth goes or can go and does go (and who really could be?) but he was my knight in shining armor, holding me through each contraction, breathing with me, encouraging me. He did NOT go get "that big knife" in the kitchen that I instructed him to get in order to kill me so that I would not be feeling any more pain but I suppose he can be forgiven for that. 
And now I have been with Lily when she had her three children, so brave, so strong and such an amazingly loving and caring and tender mother. 
I could not be more proud of her. 
Sigh.
I am always in my head a bit on the birthdays of my children. The memories of their births are so deeply engraved on my heart, and in my bones. I know I have forgotten much but then again, I have remembered more. 

And here's someone I love dearly even though I did not give birth to him who is also having his birthday today. 



Vergil. 
As I texted him this morning, the day Jessie met him was one of the luckiest days in this family's life. He has been the best husband for her, loving her joyous ways, her shining light, her tender heart. And he has helped to give us these two beautiful boys and is as stellar a father as I have ever known. He is patient and kind, he is loving and gentle. He takes those boys on adventures and gets up with them in the mornings. He is steadfast and true, he is what any mother would want for her daughter, her grandchildren. 
AND- he has fit into this family so sweetly, even with all of our quirks and our, well, differences. I think he recognized the love we all have for each other right away and he slipped right in and is one of us. 

So it's been Lily and Vergil Day and I am hoping that on Saturday we can mostly all get together to celebrate all of the birthdays that have happened and will happen this week. On Thursday, August will turn seven. SEVEN! How did that happen? 
Oh my Lord. 

I have spent most of the day in the kitchen. I did not mean to, although I did have the goal of mopping the floor in there.
That did not happen. 
But I started this morning by making up a pot of my favorite black bean soup which has been simmering all day long, and a loaf of sourdough which is in the oven now. And then my husband, who had to go to Monticello to get a replacement for the driver's license he lost, came home with TWENTY FIVE POUNDS OF RAW PEANUTS and a bushel of shelled field peas. 
Do you know what 25 pounds of peanuts looks like? 
It looks like this. 


That bag may be taller than Levon.
A few months ago, Jessie gave us a bunch of raw peanuts that they'd bought on their way home from North Carolina and I boiled some and then, on Mr. Moon's request, I roasted some, the way his mama used to do. He loved them so much that he's wanted more, ever since. 
That would be a hell of a lot of roasted peanuts. 
So, I did two large baking sheets of them today which is really not a very labor intensive task. 


I put them in the glass jar I got at the Bad Girls Get Saved By Jesus Thrift Store a few weeks ago and there they are- ready for your snacking pleasure. 

And THEN, I blanched, iced, drained, and bagged eight quarts of field peas for the freezer. 


Add that to the ones we grew and shelled ourselves that are already in the freezer, and we are rich in field peas. Which is a very fine type of wealth. 

It would appear that Hurricane Ian is not going to affect us much at all which is an excellent illustration of how incredibly inaccurate forecasting can be even in these days of computers and satellites and models and on and on. However, it is most definitely going to affect the lower gulf coast and the middle of the state. Here's what one of the latest maps shows. 


And so here I go again with my guilty vast relief and at the same time, profound worry about those in the storm's path. There are not only going to be huge winds but probably a great deal of flooding. Trees will fall, power will be out for weeks, roofs will be peeled away, windows will be broken by wind and branches, and lives will be affected in terrifying and horrible ways. 
Meanwhile, Mr. Moon will probably be able to go to Tennessee for his high school reunion. Ironically, my own fiftieth reunion which was also scheduled for this weekend and which I was not planning on attending, will probably be canceled due to the storm. 

Life is so weird. Hurricanes are so frightening and unpredictable. 
And I am so lucky. 

Love...Ms. Moon





19 comments:

  1. I’m in Illinois for the summer but watching The Weather Channel showing that our home in Palmetto will be a direct hit. I’m so sad, so worried for our friends and neighbors, worried about where will we live and just worried in general.
    -Catrina

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    1. sending you love and hoping for your home to be spared
      Susan M

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  2. Lily has one of the most beautiful smiles I've ever seen. She's an explosion of light.


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  3. 37paddington
    What a dazzlingly joyful photo of Lily! Her radiance is mesmerizing. And yes, Virgil is steady as they come. Happy birthday to both Lily and Virgil. I think my own girl might have found herself a similar salt of the earth rock steady sort. Fingers crossed.

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  4. Lily's smile is radiant always........ love, peanuts and field peas.....what could be better? And love and birthday wishes to Vergil as well....... love abounds.
    Susan M

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  5. What a sweet and peaceful post...and Lord, you were overdue for some sweet and peaceful, weren't you?

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  6. This is such a happy post. It oozes love and contentment. Your hurricane has finally hit the news over here. Stay safe.

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  7. This all is so good. If my brother-in-law knew where where you lived, he'd be planted in your kitchen, eating peanuts. I have been talking to Ian, Tampa, not Tallahassee. Sad the damage that will happen. You stay warm and safe, in the love of your fine family.

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  8. So glad for you that you get to continue celebrating your family! Yes, my son's birthday brings back memories of the long labor and final joyful birth, right at dawn.

    Still very concerned about other Florida friends who look as if they're in harms way, sigh.

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  9. I agree with everyone here about Lily’s smile. Honestly, I just love her. Happy birthing day to you!

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  10. Lily's smile just lights up the room! Vergil, patient and kind, steadfast and true, sounds very much like my son-in-law Paul, the best husband my daughter could have and the best father, soon to be a grandfather.
    I wished last post that Ian would veer out to sea, he hasn't but it seems he will be passing you by. Perhaps he will just peter out instead of wreaking havoc? I'll cross my fingers and hope.

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  11. Happy birthday Lily and Vergil What a lovely family you have! And I'm so glad Ian will give Lloyd a miss - even though, as you say, you feel so sorry for those still in its path!

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  12. The Dutch like to eat dried field peas, they call them kapucijners and I cook them for my father in law. The English eat them as well, as mushy peas. Next year I'm going to try and find some seeds and grow them myself.

    Lily has such a beautiful smile. I don't think you give yourself enough credit for how much love there is in your family. You went through abuse and still love. Not everyone can do that, in fact many don't.

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  13. I'm sorry for the people in Ian's path but I'm glad you are not one of them. That's a lot of peanuts and field peas. And happy days to Lily and Vergil.

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  14. I thought of you when I saw the storm's path veering ever-eastward. And it looks like the eye will be south of Tampa, too -- but not by much.

    I'd forgotten that Vergil and Lily have the same birthday! Happy birthday to all. That's a great photo of Vergil with his boys.

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  15. Boca Grande has been a favorite family vacation spot for so many years in my family. My parents started going there long ago and Mom always said, "if heaven isn't like Boca, I ain't going!". I see Ian has hit there and I hope those islanders will be all right...
    Happy b'day to Lily and Virgil!

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  16. A belated many happy returns of the day to Lily and Vergil!

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