Watermelonade – and Clinging Just A Little

I have a difficult time making recipes with watermelon because I feel like watermelon, in and of itself, is about as perfect as it can get. Just hand me a salt shaker and a knife and get out of my way!

But today’s recipe is a special exception. Why? Because it is basically watermelon that you can drink. No knife, no stickiness, sit back with a straw and drink the whole melon if the mood hits ya. I add just enough “extra” stuff to enhance the flavor, being careful not to detract from it. So next time you go to buy (or pick) a watermelon, buy (or pick) two instead. Eat one, drink the other. You can’t go wrong! If you wanna see how I do it, skip right on down to the first picture. If you wanna visit a spell, keep reading…

Yesterday was a day of significant change in my life. It was a day filled with joy and pride, mingled with a little uncertainty as I held my breath and watched a thread which had connected me to my son break. I knew it would come, and I’m thrilled for him but there is a lump in my heart as I adjust to the change as well.

I think all phases with our kids are like that. We expect them, we want them because we know they are a natural part of growing up for our babies, and yet they always seem to sneak up on us and we have to hold our breath and just let it happen. Kind of like diving into a pool when you know the water is a bit cold but you’ll have fun once you’re immersed and get that transitioning part over with.
Only I haven’t swam in a pool in fourteen years…but that is a story for another day. I mean, now that I’m an adult I know, logically, there are no sharks in pools so it’s not that (although I do still do a quick scan just to be on the safe side before my kids go swimming but I mean hey, shark week and all that). It’s not that I don’t enjoy going swimming it’s just that now I have transitioned to a place in my life where fully immersing myself in water is more of a sanctuary and retreat and I don’t feel the slightest bit compelled to do it in public.
Where was I? Oh yes, yesterday. My son. He is a licensed driver. Yesterday, he left the house on his own. Crazy. How did we go from this to this?

Just like that. He pulled out of the driveway.

He used his turn signal, waited for a clear gap in traffic, and very responsibly pulled out of the driveway. His first trip was to a gas station to fill up and grab a coke and a snack. He brought one of each back to his sister, too. 🙂 Man, he’s a great kid.

Last night, he drove himself to church and then went to the local Chick Fil A with his youth group. I found myself at 8:00, wanting to go to bed but unwilling to take my makeup off until he was home. At 8:22 I texted him : “I want to go to bed but I can’t take my makeup off in case something happens and you need me. Can you come home?”. He texted right back that he was planning on leaving at 8:30. He arrived exactly when he said he would and came in to give me a hug and tell me about his evening. Man, he’s a great kid.

Sidebar: Some people are thinking “You won’t care about the makeup soon enough. Makeup doesn’t matter, etc”. Umm, yeah. Y’all I usually have my face off by 8 every night. I’ll be leaving it on until midnight in the coming years. This isn’t a vanity thing, it’s a raising thing. I get that some people don’t get that. But those that do, totally do. 

So today he will find places to drive. He will ask to run errands for me. I am sure I will send him to Kroger’s at some point, and I will finally get around to finding out if I can get him a Sam’s card so he can go there for me, too. Hey, I might as well take advantage of the help while it is being offered, right? 

I’m not clinging too tightly. In fact, I’m not really clinging at all, except for the hug he has learned he is required to give before turning to that front door. I’m actively letting go, but it is a process I have to go through each and every time and I’m not sure if it is going to get any easier. He leaves and so does part of my heart. It is like part of my brain is a tracking device set on him the entire time he is away.

Seasoned moms know this. Moms of younger ones are reading and imagining in horror.

Yes, that sweet toddler who looks at you and smiles is someday going to walk out the door and in place of your hand in his, there will be car keys. And for a moment, your heart will feel a sharp and painful ache, until he or she looks back, and you see that same smile from all those years ago and you know that this is a moment they’ve waited for, and as much as you want to hold them to you, you also want to give them this moment. So much of parenting is a strange swirl of pride, love, hope, joy, and clinging. Okay, maybe just a little bit of clinging. 🙂 

Don’t worry though, they cling to you a little bit, too. 

And now for the watermelonade.

You’ll need: a blender full of cubed watermelon (black seeds removed), honey, and lime juice. 

Local honey is a beautiful thing if you can get it and if you’re just dying to squeeze some fresh limes, don’t let my bottle of juice stop ya.

Now here are the instructions so don’t blink because you’ll miss it, k?

Put all of this together (amounts are in recipe at bottom). Blend until smooth and completely liquified, and serve over crushed ice.

 

 

“I don’t think it’s cool for people to say, ‘You shouldn’t reference God because I don’t believe that, and I don’t want to hear it.’ Well, there’s a lot of stuff I don’t believe that I still gotta hear.” 

~Steve Harvey

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