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Monday, May 30, 2011

Memorial Day un-barbecue



4:01 p.m. Today's project was to entertain my father Oliver here at the house for Memorial Day. It was just Steve, Daddy and me, because Heidi and Pavel had driven to Long Beach to have lunch with her older brother Kriss and his wife Marisela. I texted my veteran son Sean to enjoy a good day, but he may be out of town. No telling what my youngest son Steven is up to, with friends and the outreach ministry events he takes part in. And I wasn't about to disturb Nick and Heather on her day off!


Daddy, a teenager who enlisted in the Air Force at the end of World War Two, and became fully active in the Korean war (while I was a baby), was a reservist flying supply missions during the Vietnam War. He never fails to explain any military questions that come up in the news, or to interpret their significance. Upon arrival, he presented us with a seedless watermelon to chill and then use the melon baller he brought over, so I could serve it with ice cream for dessert.


I'm not sure what happened to cutting watermelons into wedges and digging in, but Daddy's become quite the chef in the last ten years on his own. Since Verizon laid fiber optic cable in his neighborhood a couple of years ago, maybe he's watching Food Network!


Tradition was turned on its head in another way: the meal. It's easy not to host a barbeque when you haven't gone to the grocery store to buy hot dogs, hamburger patties and buns! So, having quarts of refried beans, plenty of homemade rice, fajita chicken, shredded cheese, corn tortillas and lettuce still on hand, I decided on a family favorite, tostadas. We enjoyed cold brewed iced tea with lemon, I fired up the pan of oil, and we had a great meal.


When the subject of ice cream came up (and why Steve wouldn't be having any), I let Daddy in on the strange happenings of the night Steve ate ice cream sandwiches . I also explained the re-introduction of the the alarm system door chime whenever an exit is opened or closed. We used it for years when the kids were small, but stopped when as teenagers they were coming in at all different times. This mom would hear the door open anyway, but Steve had to get up at 3:30 a.m, and needed his rest. "The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eats little or much," Ecclesiastes 5:12 says, and it was true of Steve until the last few months. But he slept very well last night, praise the Lord!


My dad had a scoop of strawberry cheesecake ice cream on his melon, but Steve and I stuck with the very sweet fruit alone. Totally refreshing AND low-carb!


Tomorrow will be time enough to get back into wedding planning, my caregiver class and doctor appointments, as well as studying for next Thursday's I Samuel study. But Memorial Day gave us a chance to remember as well as to relax!

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