She Has the Time

Don't forget: To enter our Bloggy Pop'rs Giveaways Carnival, Click Here. Just Comment Away!

The following was scribbled as part of the Random Complexity Writing Challenge, over at In Search of Giants. Word Count: 603.

She lights the candles, one by one. Five different scents, in different stages of meltdown, scavenged from the right-hand cabinet of her mother-in-law’s dining room hutch. The hutch that Julie and Lynn U-Hauled clear across the country one Spring, along with a table, seven chairs, and four young boys eager to see their cousins.

She turns on the water, and lets the faucets run full-out. The hotter, the better, as she recalls. Sometimes she wonders if she’ll end up like one of those frogs, the ones in the experiment. Her high school Biology teacher once told her that if you put a frog in a pan of cold water on the stove and turn on a burner, he’ll never know he’s being boiled alive. She always thinks of the frog as the steam starts to rise.

She goes to the back closet and gets down the old terry cloth bath robe. Not so white any more, but just as soft. A slight yellow tint around the cuffs. The robe she used during her hospital stay after the birth of their first little girl. An emergency C-Section. The baby was coming out sunny side up, the doctor said. The procedure—they called this gutting and stitching a “procedure”—lasted less than 10 minutes. Thirteen hours of labor, 10 minutes of delivery, one week in the hospital. Moker went out to buy her a robe so she would be comfortable during her stay.

She closes the bathroom door, turns out the lights, gets into the tub, and sinks in a profusion of orchid-scented bubbles. Twists off the cold tap and lets the hot run a few minutes more. The hotter, the better, as she recalls. Then she thinks about the frog.

Her long legs (a 34-inch inseam, to be precise) don’t quite stretch all the way out in this standard-issue tub. The formica (Julie always wonders when she’s going to replace it—the answer is “no upgrade needed.” She likes the ’70s effect) casts an unsettling glow. The candles sputter, the bathwater laps a tiny bit over onto the tile floor.

She has time to think.

For 22 years, life turned itself—and the two of them—topsy-turvy. She started off on the journey of motherhood without a clue. In fact, when the first precious little bundle came home from the hospital and pitched a screaming fit, Moker asked, turning the baby over onto her stomach, “Do these things have an ‘off’ switch, or what?”

The years rushed by in a cacophony of clichés. And before they knew it, they were sitting through yet one more of life’s little truisms: high school graduation. The youngest was about to embark on a journey of her own. Then the girls had their Honda loaded down, with more than 15 pairs of shoes. Cue Kenney Chesney, if you please: “There goes my life.”

Empty Nesting has its moments. Time to talk to one another in an uninterrupted flow of thoughts. Time to try to remember what life was like almost 22 years ago. Time to ask how we got on this merry-go-round to begin with, and wonder if we’ll ever get off. And if we’ll be able to remember all of this sweet, wild, wonderful ride.

Time to ponder what’s coming next, as well as what has come before.

Time to take a bath, in the orchid-scented bubbles that the youngest gave her Mommy as a Christmas present. An unexpected gift, to the woman who has spent the last 22 years wondering if anyone was really paying attention.

Life’s still rushing by. But now she has the time.

Aunt Julie's *Recipe Week*, Day #3: Support Our Troops!

We've all been thinking of Aunt Julie's folks, Ernie and Vera, today. They both Served Their Country with distinction in the Navy during World War II. Ernie, in fact, was in the first landing on Omaha Beach in Normandy; Vera was a Navy Nurse with her sister, Jean.

Since today is a Time of Remembrance, we'd like to honor our Veterans by sharing these wonderful family photos that depict the service of Ernie and Vera. Today is also Grandma Vera's Birthday. So we'll raise a glass--and a Cranberry Muffin, perhaps--to Family and to Grandma Vera's second sense when it came to yummy treats!

During Aunt Julie's First *Recipe Week* way back in September, we featured Grandma Vera's Cutout Cookies. Today, we'd like to pass along Vera's recipe for Cranberry Muffins, a Pop'rs Family Breakfast Favorite!

Grandma Vera's Cranberry Muffins
1 ½ tbsp. butter
½ cup sugar
½ cup milk
1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 cup sliced cranberries
Bake 25 minutes @ 350 degrees.
Makes about nine muffins, so make sure to double or even triple the recipe!

~Tomorrow: Julie Eliz's Wild Rice Soup!~

Get Ready for a Sweet Celebration!

For those of you wondering about the lovey-dovey ticker at the top of this page, exciting stuff happening in the Land of Pop’rs! Big Bear, Aunt Julie and Uncle Lynn’s Number One Son, is getting married in October! He and Little Red, his fiancé, are taking that stroll down the aisle October 11, in the first-ever Pop'rs Wedding!

Bear and Red met five years ago, when he was working for a dealership and sold her a new car (He is not exactly a fast mover—nor a smooth talker—like his Dad Lynn, The Pop'r King, who married Aunt Julie just five months and five days after meeting her on Valentine’s Day!). About 250 people are invited to Bear and Red’s wedding, with 50 to 60 invited over to The Pop’r Family’s house for the rehearsal dinner. What does Aunt Julie have to say about that? Only one word: “Yikes!” All three of Bear’s brothers will be in the wedding.

Fortunately, Aunt Julie, being The Pop'r Queen and all, sure does love to cook!…the dessert menu has been solid for months—homemade carrot cake cupcakes, cheesecake with strawberries that Julie Eliz picked in June, and a chocolate fountain! Dinner is still negotiable. “Sixty people is starting to sound like an awful lot,” Aunt Julie says. Let’s see: wedding party and out-of-town family and friends. Auntie J. is taking suggestions for the dinner!

The sweetest part of all is that Bear gave Red Grandma Vera’s engagement ring. “I thought they would just remove the diamond and put it in a new setting,” Aunt Julie explains, “but the bride loves it just like it is and prefers not to change a thing. So it has been separated (it was once welded to Grandma V.’s wedding band because of wear), gold added and a new head built, and cleaned—the goldsmith said it will look just like it did when Grandpa Ernie gave it to my Mom in 1947!”

Auntie J., naturally, is a sentimental gal. “When I returned from the jeweler’s, I cried. To think it had been in a drawer since Grandma Vera died. I’m thrilled that it has been taken out, restored and is once again on the finger of the girl who is about to become Vera's first grandson’s wife!”

Here’s where you come in, Faithful Readers! Watch this space tomorrow, when I’ll explain how you, too, can get involved and help The Pop’r Family prepare for The Big Day!

About Best Friends and Families

The old saying, "Man's Best Friend" should be expanded to women and kids as well. Trouble and Moses, pictured above, are the beloved dogs of The Pop'r Family. They are the doggie sons of Aunt Julie and Uncle Lynn, the Pop'r King and Queen.

A funny story--"Elizabeth" has been a given name in Aunt Julie's family for generations. Most recently, Grandma Vera, Aunt Julie, and my oldest all have been christened with the middle name Elizabeth. Since Aunt Julie is the proud mama of four boys, she couldn't partake in this family tradition. She's taken to calling Trouble, her beloved 16-year-old Springer Spaniel (that's 112 in "dog years"), "Trouble Elizabeth" in his old age. Has a certain ring to it, doesn't it?

The Boys are nesting in Aunt Julie's fabulous flower garden. Auntie J. inherited her green thumb from Grandma Vera (we've already established that I have no green thumb, although my geraniums are doing so much better--thanks for asking!). As you recall, Julie also has a knack for baking pies--most recently, Blueberry and Strawberry Rhubarb. One more thing Aunt Julie learned from her mother--how to make quilts! But more on that later this week.

A PS From Veggie Mom: The newest edition of The Carnival of Family Life is posted now on All Rileyed Up. Today's Carnival features posts on everything a SAHM could possibly be interested in, from Education, to Cooking, to Crafts, to Travel, and beyond. Of course, Yours Truly's post on Aunt Julie's Strawberry Rhubarb Pie is part of the Carnival. And, if you wish to take part in next week's Carnival, to be hosted by Suzanne over at Adventures in Daily Living, use this handy-dandy submission form.

A PS From Uncle Lynn: We're running our Second Pop'rs Giveaway ever, starting tomorrow! Stay tuned for details. Remember--the more the merrier. You, too, can be a winner!

Scrumptious!

Aunt Julie--The Pop'r Queen--is known for her attention to detail. No one tends a prettier garden; no one pieces together an heirloom quilt quite like my sister-in-law. Aunt Julie's quest for perfection spills over into the kitchen, as well, where her Christmas Cut-Out Cookies are almost as good as those baked for so many years by my mother-in-law--and her Mom--Grandma Vera.

Auntie J's Blueberry Pie is no exception. This confection fairly oozes sweetness and tartness at the same time, played in out in a delightful combination of a little bit of sugar with the bounty of early summer's blueberry crop. What makes this pie even more delectable is when you & the family pick the berries yourselves. Both my daughters chose Aunt Julie's Blueberry Pie as the recipe to commit closest to their memories. Sounds like a family outing to the Blueberry Patch is in order!

Why don't you take some time out this afternoon, reflect on all that life has to offer, & bake one of these absolutely scrumptious pies? And while the pie is cooling, you can contemplate your entry in this week's Pop'rs Giveaway Tuesday #1!

Aunt Julie's Blueberry Pie
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Combine in a bowl:
6 cups blueberries
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 tbsp. cinammon
1/4 cup tapioca
Pour blueberry mixture into a prepared pie crust.
Top with a lattice-style crust.
Sprinkle crust with sugar.
Bake for 45 minutes--cover the top of the pie with aluminum foil for the first 30 minutes.
Cool.
Enjoy!