Monthly Review: May 2026

Our mother lines us up in stairsteps—brother, sister, brother, brother. Each of us is a head taller than the next. We don’t like pictures, but we’re not in charge. The boys pull faces and stick up bunny ears in mischievous mutiny. Someone is usually caught blinking; someone else looks funny (whether intentionally or not). This is the best we can do, and we have been documented in all our mediocrity. Mom will print the photos and mail them to our grandparents, who will stick them on the fridge or in a frame, freezing us just as we were.

The second child and only girl, I maintained my comfortable position as second tallest until I was fifteen or so, at which point the brother three years my junior began shooting up to his weedy eventual height of six feet (give or take). The youngest of us took a few more years, but soon enough all three of my brothers towered over me. Soon enough we were grown up, out of the house, most of us married, half of us chasing toddlers. Back when we were playing Mario Party and yelling at each other to get out of the bathroom and stretching our legs into the no-man’s-land that ran down the center of our hand-me-down kitchen table, an offense for which we also yelled at each other, we didn’t think about the four of us as adults. (At least, I didn’t, and if any of the four of us had, I guarantee it would have been me.) Our parents did not tell us we had to get along so we could be friends when we were grown-ups. I think they were mostly concerned that we would all in fact live into adulthood.

And now here we are. The youngest is in the military and has been stationed in three (four? I lose track) different states and two different countries, but the other three of us all live within about an hour of each other, a small triangle of Mayes siblings. But every so often all four of us are together. Never for very long at a time. This time it’s just an afternoon, in a sunny park very like the one where we played tag growing up. We pack picnic lunches with treats to share, and I push my niece on the swing and chase my nephew through the warren of wooden towers.

Before we leave, Mom asks us for a picture. We stand on the stairs leading down to the creek that flows through the park. Two, four, three, one, and we are stairsteps once again, just as we have always been, and mostly smiling. As long as they’re beside me, I will always know where I came from and where I’m going.

---

Here's what I read, cooked, and created in the month of May.

What I Read

• The Librarian of Auschwitz, Antonio Iturbe (★★★★)

• Same as It Ever Was, Claire Lombardo (★★★★)

• Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck (★★★)

• The Buried Giant, Kazuo Ishiguro (★★)

  
  

If you want to hear the rationale behind my rating, head to my Goodreads for full reviews.

What I Cooked

• Crab Salad

  • Difficulty: ★

  • Flavor: ★★★★

  • Keeper: Yes

Something about crab salad on a croissant at a picnic feels so luxurious. I did add more lemon juice and Old Bay than called for here.

• Caprese Chickpea Salad

  • Difficulty: ★

  • Flavor: ★★★★★

  • Keeper: Yes

I served this over farro, and what a great dinner it was. Even if you halve the recipe (as I did), I would recommend making the normal amount of dressing.

• Sausage, Cabbage, and White Bean Skillet

  • Difficulty: ★

  • Flavor: ★★★

  • Keeper: Probably not

I love a one-pan dinner as much as the next gal, but this one, like so many other Modern Proper recipes I have tried, just didn't do a whole lot for me.

• Crab Rangoon Burrito Rolls

  • Difficulty: ★★

  • Flavor: ★★★★

  • Keeper: Yes

I made these for my brother and fellow crab rangoon enthusiast, and we were both pleased with how quickly they came together and how good they tasted.

• Yogurt Cookies

  • Difficulty: ★★

  • Flavor: ★★★★★

  • Keeper: Yes

I can see these being great in bar form as well, if for no other reason than to avoid the inevitable glaze squashing when storing cookies. I had to swap the raspberries for strawberries, and with Greek yogurt the glaze required some heavy cream to thin, but the recipe held up well to these changes and produced a soft, lovely cookie.

• Lemon Ricotta Cake

  • Difficulty: ★★

  • Flavor: ★★★★

  • Keeper: Yes

This was so pleasant. Ricotta cakes are naturally moist and subtle in flavor, making them a great vehicle for the fresh strawberries and whipped cream.

What I Created

• Unpublished original poem "What You'd Want for a Child"

• The first few paragraphs of my next essay for Commonplace magazine

---

May your days be filled with beauty, and may your heart be filled with the willingness to see and give thanks for it.