Chasing Forgiveness

We long ago established that Mila is better at life than any of us, which is in no small part because all she does is chase joy. I realized today that there's another reason she's happier than all of the rest of us put together, though. She figures out how to get to the joy part faster.

Like, she's better than most adults at handling the rough parts of life.

Let me set the scene for you. It was quiet all around the house this morning. Too quiet. When that happens, there is absolutely a 1000000% chance something is being destroyed. Thus, I started up the stairs only to have Mila meet me half way.

Let's pause for a second. I decided to demolish the half wall that goes up our stairs. It will be replaced with a very fancy railing just as soon as all of the parts are delivered. In the meantime, there is a side missing on the stairs. Mila is terrified of this concept. I'm loving every second of it because for once she's not finding every possible wrong/unsafe way to descend. Like, it's great because it turns out she does know how to hold the handrail (there's sort of one on the side that still has a wall) and put one foot in front of the other while walking down one stair at a time. The fact that she purposely met me halfway down the stairs when she's scared of the stairs? That's a red flag.

I saw what she was trying to hide immediately. Either she was headed for an audition with the Blue Man Group or she got into blue paint. There is no option C in that whole situation. Both of her hands were completely covered in blue.

"Whatcha doing?" I asked, preparing myself for what was sure to be a lie.

"Nothing."

Yeah, that's a lie. It's always a lie. Every child ever who has answered the "What are you doing?" question with "Nothing" has been lying. It would be great if they would figure out that we know that.

ANYWAY.

The conversation progressed and after much glaring and asking, "Are you going to tell me the truth?" Mila confessed to ... getting some marker on her hands. I mean, I could see that it was paint, but sure, kid. Nice try.

"Show me the marker," I demanded. It was then that Mila led me to the rest of the crime scene and HOOBOY it was a crime scene. She spilled paint. A lot of it. In another day and time, I would have been furious. However, the carpet is nearing the end of its life, so I guess it should get to participate in a paint party before I tear it out? Why not, right? Let's just go ahead and destroy it all of the fun ways. It has served its purpose.

I couldn't tell that to Mila, obviously, so I feigned anger.

She doubled down on the lie.

I stopped having to feign anything. Real anger rose up and I guess Mila can tell the difference? The very second she realized I was truly mad she did the thing that makes her smarter than basically most adults. When caught red-handed having done something wrong, so many adults will either:

1. Blame someone else.

2. Deny everything.

3. Yell at the person confronting them.

4. Make excuses.

5. Give gaslighting a solid try.

But not Mila! Oh, no. The child has already figured out that the fastest way to diffuse a situation like that one is to sincerely utter two little words.

"I'm sorry."

And just like that, she gets to go back to chasing joy because how do you stay mad when she's genuinely sorry?

(She got to go back to chasing joy AFTER she cleaned up the mess, FWIW. But then she went and had fun while cleaning and DAMMIT, I CANNOT WIN WITH THIS KID.)

Bosnian Poached Apples (Tufahija)

Apple orchard! We did that!

It's good to have these little traditions that the girls find endearing, you know? What's not endearing is the fact that I never learn. I should have remembered that in previous years, the girls have gotten carried away and I've ended up with FAR too many apples. I remember it now.

To make matters worse, Mila is -obsessed- with tiny apples. It's a good thing for her to pick several because she has a delightful habit of taking three bites out of an apple and declaring herself full. A dozen or so tiny apples will be exactly the snack she needs for a few weeks. She does not, however, need to pick hundreds of tiny apples.

She did, though. And I didn't realize it in time to stop her.

Thus, we are eating all apples for all meals always. That's just how it is. To help with that little situation, I'm digging through the archives and finding all the recipes I've made over the years. We've done a bunch of stuffed french toast with fried apple filling, for example. We've also done these poached apples. The advantage to them is that they are a decent use for smaller apples. I sort of have more than a few of those.

Bosnian Poached Apples (Tufahija)

4 apples (Firmer varieties work better)
2 cups granulated sugar
3 cups water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
small handful raisins
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1. In a small saucepan, bring the water, sugar, and lemon juice to a boil.

2. While that's happening, peel and core the apples. Hold on to the peels. You're going to use them later. When you're coring the apples, try to just cut the middles out and leave the bottom in place so that you're apple can act as a bowl of sorts.

3. Once the water/sugar is boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer then add the apples. Let simmer for 4-5 minutes and then turn them to cook the sides that weren't under water before. Simmer 2-3 more minutes. The apples should be soft enough to easily poke a hole in with a fork, but still hold their shape.

4. Remove the apples and carefully put them in the fridge. Add the peels to the water and let it continue to simmer for another 30 minutes. You're making a thick syrup.

5. Once the syrup is good and thick, use a fork to remove the peels and disgard. Allow the syrup to cool.

6. Mix the walnuts and raisins together and then place some inside the apples. Set each apple on a serving dish. Pour syrup over each apple.

7. Whip the heavy cream until peaks begin to form. Add the sugar.

8. Top the apples with whipped cream then garnish with the leftover walnuts.

First(ish) Day of Eleventh Grade

So! Fun story!

I have taken a first and last day of school photo for all of Alexis' life. Literally, every year on the first and last day of school, I get up an extra 10 minutes early specifically so I can make sure a chalk board is decorated and a photo is taken.

UNTIL THIS YEAR.

I mean, it wasn't because I didn't do my thing. Because I did.

Rather, I woke up way earlier than any sane person should wake up so that I could be half-dressed while standing outside to take a photo of Alexis on her first day of her junior year. Except! I heard the front door close 15 minutes before the bus was supposed to arrive! I raced to find out what was going on. I found Alexis walking down the street.

I was like, "Uh, photo?" and she was like, "Uh, I'm getting a ride with a friend and I don't have time okaybai."

And off she went. Like, she just flat-out ignored tradition and blew me off. Hard core.

I was not amused. To add insult to injury, literally alllllll of her friends' parents posted first day photos throughout the morning. The worst of the 16-year olds went along with the game, but my so-called grandmother in a teen's body? Nope. She's too cool.

So I stewed over it and eventually realized it didn't really matter and so what if I am missing one photo? Right? Right.

And then Alexis returned home after school. She immediately set out to decorating the chalk board and was like, "Yo. Photographer lady. Do your thing."

I was like, "Uh, I'm busy and I'm going to pay as much attention to you now as you did me this morning so okaybai."

Alexis was PISSED. I think she may have been more pissed that I blew her off than I was when she blew me off? Regardless, I had things to do so I went back to those things. Alexis' answer to being ignored? FIND MILA.

Mila played photographer while Alexis stood in her spot. Then Alexis emailed the photo to me and ... I can't even. It's fine. Everything is fine. It's totally fine that teenagers can be jerks but then magically make up for it? Sort of?

Regardless, Alexis is a junior this year. She's also quite the problem solver.