qos: (Isabel by eledwhen_girl)
qos ([personal profile] qos) wrote2005-08-10 07:23 pm
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Home and Family

It's hard to put in a more than full day at work and then come home and try to cook dinner.

I realize that that's probably not news to anyone who reads this, but it's a particular source of stress for me. However, tonight I followed the meal plan The Child and I put together on Sunday, and instead of doing drive-through, going back out for a sit-down restaurant meal, or simply throwing a quesadilla on the mini-grill, I dragged out my South Beach Diet cookbook and made Oven-Baked Almond Chicken. (Okay, so I ate a few potato chips to take the edge off first -- but I still cooked dinner.)

The big hitch was that when I was shopping I decided to forgo buying "whole wheat breadcrumbs," because I have plenty of bread at home that can be chopped up. Unfortunately, given my lack of experience in such things, it quickly became clear this evening that what I had produced was more in the way of mini-croutons than "crumbs." So I ended up doing some extra knife chopping, and then simply sinking my hands into the breading mix (also containing ground almonds, some parmesan cheese, oregano, etc.) and making it all as small as I could. Which was unexpectedly fun. And it turned out pretty well. I'm sure it will be better with actual crumbs, but it was good.

And while I was eating my father called. His opening words: "I'd like you to make a pastoral call."

Okay, Dad, you've got my attention.

It turns out that my uncle (his sister's husband) is in the hospital with cancer, a punctured bowel, and general other Not-Good things. He is down to 122 pounds, which is terrifying. Dad wasn't going to ask me to drive out to the hospital (which is an hour or more from where I live) but he did ask that I call my aunt.

That aunt and uncle are not people with whom I'm especially close. They are fairly conservative Christians, and there isn't much to bring us together beyond family holiday celebrations. They are kind people, and have always treated me with respect, even when I've divorced, or taken up with a heterodox Christian group (the Swedenborgian church), but we don't have a lot that we share except love for my dad.

Well, when Dad calls me and appeals with those words, it's hard to say no. But there was no answer at their house, so I left a message for my aunt, invited her to call me if she felt like she wanted to talk, and told them I'd be praying for them.

If anyone else has prayers to spare for my "other" Uncle Fred (my mother's sister's husband Fred died two years ago), they would be welcome.

[identity profile] gothic-coop.livejournal.com 2005-08-11 03:29 pm (UTC)(link)
If anyone else has prayers to spare for my "other" Uncle Fred (my mother's sister's husband Fred died two years ago), they would be welcome.

Consider it done.

[identity profile] gothic-coop.livejournal.com 2005-08-12 05:46 pm (UTC)(link)
For you, anything.