reminders from mom

My mom drove up from Houston this evening. It was a spur-of-the-moment deal--fancy plans were not in place. We simply opened (and enjoyed) a couple of bottles of sparkling wine and spent the evening on the couch, catching up on stuff (her recent trip to Canada, my quest for that silly doctorate, the frustrating state of politics, good friends, irreplaceable family, etc.). My fur roomies, Jaxson and Zoe, were equally thrilled to see her.

I prepared all three of the Eating Well Magazine berry-inspired recipes; so she was unwittingly suckered into my test kitchen. BTW ... the chicken & blueberry pasta salad = super tasty; the raspberry, avocado, & mango salad = disappointingly average. And the ridiculously simple strawberry/raspberry puree, drizzled over vanilla fro yo, was a perfect finale.

I'd forgotten how comforting it is just to hear my mom's voice from the other room or to see her paging through a magazine. I'm guilty of allowing crazy and hectic to dictate too many of my days, all too often kicking into an anxiety-induced, autopilot state. But hanging out with her always puts things back into proper perspective. She injects a sense of calm and ease to life that makes it authentic and beautiful.

Spontaneous visits from Mom ... such a treasure.