It's one of those in-between moments, easily missed but serendipitously caught. I'm in my brother's kitchen grabbing seconds when I glance out the window above the sink. It frames my family on the deck like a candid picture too good to leave on the camera roll. They sit suffused with golden hour sunlight, and I look at them for a moment.
There is my baby nephew, blue eyes wide, eagerly signing "more" in the hopes of extra iced tea or berries. My sister-in-law dutifully feeds him between bites of her own food. My older brother is sitting down at last after grilling a whole feast of fajitas for us. My youngest brother isn't even in the same timezone as the rest of us, but the middle brother is laughing with his wife and my husband as I observe them out the window.
My parents sit in the midst of it all. The strands of gray in their hair glint silver in the light––more gray now than there was when they moved away not even three years ago. This month marks 33 years of marriage for them, and spread around them are the tangible symbols of their union: us, their children. We are all here, some of us in the most fundamental sense of the word, because of them.
Of course, in the years we all lived together, I did not understand this. I was more likely to notice the indignity of a toilet seat left up or the irritation of another squabble spilling out of my younger brothers' shared room. These were far more blatant than the quiet beauty of a home in which, fluctuating momentary fondness aside, everyone did in fact love one another.
Removed now from these formative years in our parents' home, my brothers and I still bear its shaping influence as surely as the big Gronberg head and the lanky Mayes legs. I look at them now in this moment that will end as soon as I rejoin it, framing it now in memory that I may always see here the faces of the people who love me most, the ones that I love best. How beautiful they are.
Here's what I read, cooked, and created in the month of June.
What I Read
The Toxic War on Masculinity: How Christianity Reconciles the Sexes, Nancy Pearcey (★★★★★)
Little Women, Louisa May Alcott (★★★★★)
The Selection, Kiera Cass (★★★)––reread
The Elite, Kiera Cass (★★★★)
The One, Kiera Cass (★★★★)
Happily Ever After, Kiera Cass (★★★)
The Heir, Kiera Cass (★★★)
The Crown, Kiera Cass (★★★★)
Everything Sad is Untrue, Daniel Nayeri (★★★★)
The Midnight Library, Matt Haig (★★★)
Poisoned, Jennifer Donnelly (★★★)
The Grace Awakening, Charles Swindoll (★★★)
The Nickel Boys, Colson Whitehead (★★★)
If you want to hear the rationale behind my rating, head to my Goodreads for full reviews.
What I Cooked
Difficulty: ★★
Flavor: ★★★★
Keeper: Yes
Comments: Super easy and delicious. I get the feeling I will be making these again before the summer is up.
Difficulty: ★★
Flavor: ★★★
Keeper: Maybe
Comments: The batter seemed somewhat bland. A little more sugar and spice seem to be in order.
Difficulty: ★★
Flavor: ★★★★
Keeper: Yes
Comments: I was worried this would not set, but it did, and that felt like a huge W for my first batch of lemon curd.
Difficulty: ★★★
Flavor: ★★★★
Keeper: Yes
Comments: The crispy cheese wrap adds absolutely nothing but stress to the experience of making these burritos. Not worth the effort.
What I Created
Unpublished original poem "Hourglass"
Unpublished original poem "A Liturgy for the Picking of Fruit"
Original blackout poem "First Look"
May your days be filled with beauty, and may your heart be filled with the willingness to see and give thanks for it.