Letting Go: Taco Supper

The backstory: This year, as JT prepares to head off to college, I’m writing about the traditions that spell love in our home.  I’m thinking of them more mindfully than usual as I prepare to send my bird from his nest.  For me, these traditions  were always about a securing a happy and well-loved childhood in preparation for a happy adulthood.  They are about creating memories that will endure and for me they are also about letting go.

One of the traditions in our home is homemade tacos, a supper I learned to make in California.  I make Diana Kennedy’s chicken recipe, so we have chicken tacos.  When there’s time, I make homemade refried beans.  There is always homemade salsa.  We have them so often that I have dozens of pictures of taco suppers served over the years.

We have chicken tacos when someone special comes to to dinner.  We have them to celebrate birthdays and achievements.  We have them because its Tuesday and tacos are delicious.  It’s special because its ours; it’s JT’s most requested meal.  Tonight we had tacos to celebrate the end of the second week of school.  T and JT’s girlfriend A joined us; both have had plenty of tacos at our house.  They are welcome to plenty more, because tacos at Sassafras House are a thing; our happy thing.

The Joy of it All

I change the picture on the desktop of my computer very regularly.  There’s only one requirement of the picture I place there: it needs to make me happy.  For this reason, the picture is most often one of two things: something from the outdoors, often a place I’ve visited with T, or my son.  Not coincidentally, both of these things are growing and changing and it is the notion of capturing one moment in a happy time that I find so pleasing..  

In September, I came across the picture of an 8 year old JT, playing in the backyard with a sprinkler and a stick.  This was frequent game he played over the years and it always featured laughter and joy because he was outside and running, two of his most favorite things.  I set the picture as my desktop because it made me happy.

Yesterday, one of JT’s Cross Country teammates made this picture of him in his second race of the season.   He wasn’t laughing and sticks aren't allowed in Cross Country, but I know that he was having fun.

Same kid, 9 short years later.  And the best thing of all is that I see the same kind of joy.  That’s happy!

Dogwood Wednesday: September 13

It took me the better part of 40 years to learn to live in the moment and  appreciate the blessings of each day; to enjoy today while it happened.  I’ve been thinking of that quite a bit lately, as the days of September slip by one by one.  This year, I’m more determined than ever to enjoy each day, aware that big changes are coming my way.  Those changes are exciting; even welcome.  But things will be different at this time next year.   So I enjoy today.

The dogwood, inching its way to a lovely display of red leaves, is a reminder to stop and admire the beauty of these days.  And so I step outside each morning to watch the sun slip over the horizon to light my morning and the dogwood leaves.  And I welcome all that the day brings.

Garden Report, Week 15: September 11

The calendar may say Summer, but the days around here feel like Fall.  For starters, the evenings and early mornings are cool, even downright chilly.   Each morning, I awaken in the dark and in the evening the sun sets sooner than I would like.  But the most significant sign that the Summer is closing is the slowing pace of ripe tomatoes in my garden.

I’m not quite ready to say goodbye to idea of fresh tomatoes, picked from the garden and still warm when they arrive at the supper table.  It’s been a lovely season.

The Season Begins

A few weeks back, JT began daily team practice for his Senior year of cross country, his sixth season on the school’s Cross Country team.  He enjoyed running in those early years on the team, though he didn’t always look like a runner.  7th grade JT sometimes walked part of the course on his way across the finish line.

8th grade JT found himself racing to get across the finish line.

By 9th grade, he was more committed to the team; he never missed a practice.  But I wouldn’t say he was fast.

In tenth grade we cheered him on as he came along with the pack.

Last year, in 11th grade, it was a whole new JT on the track.  He ran quite a bit the summer before his Junior year and he began the season in the middle of the JV pack.  By the close of the season, he was the number one Varsity runner.  More important than that, the sport was in his blood and he loved it.

Though the cross country season ended, he never stopped running.  He joined a local track club and trained on his own.  He logged countless miles for a training regimen that had him on the trail six days a week.  I don’t know of a single time that he planned to run but laid around instead.  He started his final high school season as the Varsity leader and as a team captain.  The first race is always nerve-wracking but he looked good, ran a personal best time, and placed fifth.

It’s been terrific to watch him develop as a runner.  Last fall, when he first glimpsed his potential talent in the sport, a light went on and he worked as hard as I’ve ever seen him work at a task.  It’s thrilling to watch him do something that he so clearly loves.  

Dogwood Wednesday: September 6

We’ve had several weeks of cooler weather with more than a half-dozen nights in the 50s.  So while I am still full-tilt in warm weather flip flop mode, Mother Nature is looking toward Fall.  That shows on the dogwood leaves, which are starting to take on a golden shade, especially clear in the morning light this past weekend.

From now and until the day the leaves are all gone, I’ll be posting a weekly dogwood photo.  The collection will be my reminder to embrace all that the season has to offer.

Letting Go: First Day of School

Today, JT started his Senior year of high school.  He’s a “lifer” at our school, having begun classes on this campus in 2003, when he was three years old.  Today is the last day I will snap his “first day of school” picture.   JT graciously yielded to my photo request.  He realizes that the year ahead is our last in clearly charted territory.

By this time next year, he’ll be in his first year of college.  Some of the days may have been long but the years since I gave birth to him have passed by quickly.  As this next year unfolds, I plan to write about all the tradition in our family, the things I did mindfully to remind JT that he is loved, and always in preparation for my expectation that it is my job to launch him into the world.   I’m going to call this collection “Letting Go” because that’s really what it’s about.

Today, as his last school year begins, I’m thinking of the years that he held my hand as we walked to his classroom door.  By first grade, I walked him to the main door and he travelled the last few feet by himself, calling, “I love you Mama,” as he walked off.  In second grade, I carried his bag while he and his broken leg travelled on crutches to get to class.  By third grade, he was ready to go on his own and I haven’t walked him to class since then.  Bit by bit, he has embraced independence.  This morning, he let me make his picture and then he drove to school himself, delivering flowers as he picked up his girlfriend on the way.  

And so his Senior year begins.

Garden Report, Week 14: Monday, September 4

It’s not clear to me how September slipped in but it has clearly arrived.  Mornings feature a noticeable chill and school starts in earnest tomorrow.  I am still wearing flip flops and picking tomatoes, so denial is the order of the day.  I’ve decided to post my weekly garden photos as long as I still have something to show for it and until the first frost.  

This Summer has been simply lovely and I’m going to miss the leisurely days.  With any luck, the tomatoes and flowers I’ll continue to harvest will be reminders of the season.  That’s happy!

Smack Talking and On the Move

JT's Senior season of country practice has begun.  The team runs its first race a week from today.  In hindsight, it’s not much of a surprise that JT has taken up this sport.  He was smack-talking from the get go.

He was at his happiest when he was left to run and plan.  He made everything a game.

He slowed on occasion.

His bike and a scooter were always welcome diversions.

He liked speed and would give anything a try.

For a kid who ran for hours and hours in our backyard and at every local park I could find, I guess that cross country is the obvious sport of choice.  This summer, the miles have piled up and I’m excited to see where they take him.  Bring on the Senior season!

Old Man Tree: September 1

I know that calendar doesn’t close out Summer until later this month, but something about the arrival of September 1 spells Fall to me.  Part of that is the fact that school is about to begin and everything changes when school starts.  Part of the feeling is that an unseasonably  cool weather pattern has settled upon us for the last two weeks.  We’ve enjoyed days in the 70s and nights in the 50s.  When I poured my first cup of coffee this morning, it was 54 degrees.  There is just the beginning of a golden hue to the leaves as Old Man Tree prepares for the coming changes.  

We’ve had plenty of rain with this patch of cool weather and the Fall leaf display will likely be quite splendid.  I never tire of the beautiful woods around here and I look forward to the coming show.  Until then, I’m hoping for more days to sit outside on the back deck, enjoying the back yard.  Time outside is a lovely tonic in all seasons, but especially once school begins.