I Forgot

I forgot that Daughter had bowling this afternoon. By the time I saw it on the calendar, it was too late to get her there. We'd been in town, she could have gone, I just forgot. Daughter hasn't realized it yet, and I'm grateful. I've taken advantage of being home this afternoon to defrost the freezer and steam some pork shoulder for tamales I plan to make this week.

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It will be so good to have that big yellow bus come and pick her up tomorrow morning. I am so ready to get back into our normal routine. It is going to be a busy week, with lots of catching up to do. I also have multiple evening commitments.

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The church treasurer is getting over a cold. She commented on how I hadn't had a cold this Christmas. I told her I'd been thinking about that, and am very grateful. In the past, I've gotten sick twice a year: Christmas and Easter. The stress takes a toll, and my body protests. I told her that I think it is because I'm no longer dealing with the stress of aging parents who live 150 miles away. That sounds terrible. I miss them. I was thinking about Dad today as I started cooking the pork. He was the one who taught me how to make tamales. Brother tried to figure out his recipe one year--and gave up. Dad never used recipes. I cheated, and bought a kit. I'm not following the directions exactly, though. I am my father's daughter, after all. Dad would be delighted to know I was steaming a pork shoulder (he said that was the best way to cook certain cuts of meat) in preparation for making tamales. If they turn out, I'll take a few to Brother. He's been bugging me to make some with him the last few years at Christmas time, but it's just been too chaotic. If these go well, maybe I'll have him come down some weekend and we'll have a tamale making marathon. He'd like that. So would Dad.