Where Poprocks Meet the Ocean
And a harbor seal sunbathes on a rock
Did anyone else Struggle-with-a-capital-S celebrating the New Year this year?
I am usually a lover of the new year. I love a clean slate. I embrace the new year as a time to refine my vision. A time to make new goals and set new intentions. I typically find it pretty easy to let go of the things that held me back the year before and vow to move forward in the year to come. But moving from 2020 to 2021 felt like moving from one wrecked train car to another.
A few days into the new year I found myself feeling tired. Tired of trying to make life-in-the-time-of-Covid feel okay and happy and full of good memories. Tired of not having dinner with my friends and neighbors. Tired of worrying about whether or not my family would be safe. Tired of having to calm a disappointed child because one more thing has now been canceled. And because none of that was different, even though it was a new year and the slate was supposed to be wiped clean, I was a Super Crank.
So I did what we learned to do back when Covid first hit—I bundled everyone up and headed to one of our favorite hiking spots. When we found the parking lot completely full, I thought our outing would be a flop, until we drove down a random road and spotted a harbor seal lying on a rock soaking up the sun. I felt the tiniest bit of hope rising in my chest, and just as we circled back to the parking lot, someone was pulling out of a spot!
We hiked a hard, rocky hill that we've never hiked before and headed to the Ocean Lawn. As they ran across the lawn to climb the biggest tree we’ve ever seen, I sat on a bench and admired the sights before me. On a clear day, you can see for miles away, and the view of the Boston skyline far across the sea nearly took my breath away.
I made my way toward the rocks and stopped when I heard an incredible sound. The waves crashed against the rocks and receded with a sound that echoed. It happened again. And again. And again. It sounded like Pop Rocks® as they hit my tongue. Crinkle crackle crackle. Crinkle crackle crackle. It was, quite possibly, one of the coolest things I’ve ever experienced.
Most days I still can’t believe we live so close to the coast. The ocean has become the greatest gift of our move to Massachusetts. It's so healing, the ocean. I can be in the worst mood of all time and standing by the ocean will take all of my worries away. It reminds me that God is bigger than all of this. God can take all of that crank that I might be feeling inside and hold it, and squeeze it, and breathe new breath inside my heart and soul.
I never want to live in a place where there's no ocean, ever again. And in 2021, I want to do a lot more deep breathing than I did in 2020. What about you?
On Our Bookshelf
As a homeschooling family, books are our expertise. We read a gazillion books a week (only a slight exaggeration) and I am always on the lookout for the next good book. Much of what we read for our school lessons are older classics, but I try to vary my personal reading between old books and new ones. Here are a few of the books we’ve loved this month.
Adventures with Waffles, Maria Parr
This may be my new favorite read aloud, and one I will recommend over and over again. About a boy and girl in Norway, it’s a book that had our entire family laughing out loud. David does our bedtime read aloud, and he did a beautiful job capturing the characters. I will warn you that my favorite part of the book is also the saddest, but it is the most beautiful portrayal of death I’ve ever read in a piece of children’s literature. I don’t want to tell you anymore, because I want you to read it. It’s the best book I’ve read all year.
A Promised Land, Barack Obama
I learned SO much from this book. It’s long, but flows really well and keeps you engaged. Obama does a wonderful job of explaining the political climate before he became President and the policy decisions he made as President. It gave me a much better picture of the political climate in our country and left me eager to read the second volume. Does anyone know when it will be released?!
Salvage the Bones, Jesmyn Ward
One of my reading goals over the last several years has been to read books written by BIPOC or about situations that BIPOC face. Jesmyn Ward's works are always difficult for me—not because the writing is hard, but because it's so raw and so very real. She does an incredible job of transporting you right into the middle of the family she's writing about and gives you a good glimpse of what life is like in some of the poorest, most dreary places. This one is about Hurricane Katrina, and is well worth a read.
You can see all of my January favorites over at Bookshop. Do you know about Bookshop? Next to my local independent bookstore, it’s my favorite place to order books. When you buy through the site, 10% of the purchase goes to your favorite independent bookstore. The prices are sometimes slightly higher than Amazon, but our local bookstores need us more than ever. (Note: If you buy through my link, I get a tiny percentage too, just for telling you how much I love them).
In Our Kitchen
Many mornings as a teenager I would be running out the door and hear my mom yell, “You ate breakfast, right? You know breakfast is the most important part of the day!” I’d hastily reply, “I grabbed a granola bar! I’ll be fine!”
I actually really, no, REALLY hate breakfast. I don’t like eggs. I don’t like cereal. I don’t really like oatmeal. Oatmeal Cookies, yes. A bowl of oatmeal? Eh, I can pass. Basically, I don’t like any food that you think of as “breakfast.” Except for bacon. I adore bacon. But cooking bacon is an art that I just haven’t mastered, and it takes time, and I don’t have time for bacon every day. And if breakfast really is the most important part of the day, well, bacon just isn’t possible every single day.
I am here to tell you that Smitten Kitchen’s Flipped Crispy Egg Taco with Singed Greens is a breakfast game-changer. I order kale from our local farm once a month just so I can have this taco for breakfast every single day. It takes about 5 minutes to make, it has all the breakfast nutrients I need, AND it keeps me full until lunchtime. Win/Win/Win! Try it. I promise you won't regret it.
And when you aren’t eating kale and egg tacos, I highly recommend finding a bag of dry beans and turning them into these amazing Brothy Butter Beans. The author uses dry lima beans, but I’ve made it twice now with two different types of beans, and you really can’t go wrong with any bean you choose. Warning: this is not really a recipe but is more of a “how-to,” so don’t be mad at me for the lack of direction. But I promise you they are so SO delicious that you’ll want to eat them the next morning for breakfast. Except you’re going to make a kale taco, so you can save them for lunch. Except you might not have leftovers … so …
Might I also suggest these Weelicious Pesto Meatballs that everyone in the house will love? She uses turkey, but I typically use whatever ground meat is in my freezer, and there is always MUCH celebration when they are written on the menu board for the week. Seriously. You’d think I was making something fancy like Lobster Macaroni and Cheese or something. They are super easy, and I’m pretty sure my kids could eat them every day and never get tired of them. I don’t know how they’d be for breakfast though. You may want to stick with kale tacos and beans for that.
Staying Warm
January in New England means lots of very cold, very windy days. You’d think it would mean a lot of snow days, but the last several years, snow seems to think it belongs in Fall and Spring instead of Winter, so we have to find other ways to entertain ourselves. We do try to get outside at least an hour a day, but that still leaves a lot of indoor time.
One of the things we like to do in the winter is make playdough together. We’ve made it so many times the girls can basically make it without me now. I give them the recipe and let them get to work.
In a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup salt, 2 cups flour, 2 Tablespoons cream of tartar, 2 cups water, and 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until it all comes together and pulls away from the pan. It starts as a liquid and then, like magic, it starts turning into a solid, and eventually it looks like playdough!
Scoop it out from your pot to the counter and let it cool before kneading it into a ball. Be careful—your pot will be hot! If you want it to be scented playdough, you can knead 5-10 drops of essential oil. If you want colored playdough, knead in a few drops of food coloring. Then grab some cookie cutters and buttons and other knick-knacks and start creating your masterpiece! Homemade playdough will last about 3 months as long as you store it in an airtight container.
Playing Together
A few years ago we started using Friday nights as Family Game Night. My mom used to call this “FFF” which stood for “forced family fun” and my sisters and I still refer to fun family things in that way. It’s really amazing what having fun together can do for relationships. Playing together helps release anxiety and can put everyone back on good terms with one another. Assuming you find the right thing to play!
We found an old Nintendo Wii at a thrift store last fall, so for Christmas I bought all the necessary accessories. You know, like a power plug and Wiimotes. And nunchucks. Oh and rechargeable batteries and a charger, because the Wiimotes were using batteries like crazy. By the time I bought all the accessories, I should have just bought a complete system, but whatever. We are now the proud owners of a Nintendo Wii, and several games to keep us having tons of fun.
We also have a closet full of board games for FFF Nights. One of our favorite games lately is Qwirkle. My kids are both extra sensitive to competition, so we play cooperatively. Each player gets 6 tiles and you work together to fill the table with lines of matching shapes or colors. You can play until the tiles run out or you can play until someone gets tired—whichever comes first.
In Case You Missed It
My oldest turns 9 in just a few weeks. I’m not really sure how that can be true. In thinking about how to celebrate her birthday, I’m reminded of the time we threw a big birthday party for people who needed to feel loved.
I’m writing a lot of really crappy rough drafts right now. And some goals. And even a poem here and there.
I took a cruise down memory lane and ended up grappling with some really hard truths. Man, we white people have a lot of work to do.
My baby is growing up. And I’m a little sad about it.
And there was the day that making muffins for breakfast made me cry.
Make New Friends
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried to give up Social Media over the last several years, but ya’ll. I just can’t do it. Instagram is my happy place. Here are a few people I’m loving these days.
Ginny over at 1000 Hours Outside—Never did I ever dream I’d want to spend 1000 hours outside in a year, but we did it in 2020 and we’ll do it again in 2021. She has great printables to get you started, and the #1000hoursoutside community has been awesome for giving me ideas to get my kids—and me— outside. Even on the disagreeable weather days.
Rachel on the Rocks—Rachel is a sorority sister from college who is also a terrific writer. She started a new cocktail-specific Instagram last year and I love trying the drinks she puts together. As an extra bonus, her feed is just gorgeous to look at. And we can all use a fun cocktail mixed with a little gorgeousness in these weird times.
Here We Read—This feed is full of amazing ideas for diverse books. I use many of her recommendations in our homeschool curriculum, or when I’m putting books on hold at the library. I’m especially excited about this 2021 List she put out.
My dear friend Leigh lives in Germany and I’ve been traveling vicariously through her posts. I may not be able to use my passport this year, but I can pretend to be where she is!
Something to Empower You
The Lord bless us and keep us.
The Lord make His face shine upon us and be gracious unto us.
May God give us grace never to sell ourselves short; grace to risk something big for something good; grace to realize that the world is much too small for anything but love and much too dangerous for anything but truth.
And now may God take our minds and think through them. May God take our lips and speak through them. And may God take our hearts and set them on fire.
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!
Benediction offered at Crescent Hill Baptist Church, Louisville, KY. Adapted from a prayer attributed to William Sloane Coffin. Shared with me by my wonderful mentor and friend, Rev. Amy Figg Ley.
Until next month,
