Rainy season's supposed to let up some time soon. And until that time is over, the after-shower humidity can get on everyone's nerves, making people crabby, irritable, and just plain wishing no one wus ever born.
Occasionally, the clouds will break up just enough and light will shine through.
For us, that happened last weekend.
So, we celebrated. And it just so happened that one of our precious pods that has been growing in the garden... it hadn't been ravaged by the crows or carried away by the any of the red-assed monkeys that
parkours across our roof from time to time. This year, our crop survived even though we still don't have a clue as to what we are doing.
Maybe all the noise coming from the house these last few months... maybe all that hate-fever, heat-induced screaming and shouting had scared 'em all away.
Yeah, we celebrated. Our melon spent the night in our fridge, chilling with a bunch of other goodies before time came to bring it out and slice it open.
Simple pleasures bring back memories of hotter-than-hell summers past. The smell of tomato plants, the lazy sound of the pressure cooker pulling that sweet pork flavor up from the bottom and into those black-eyed peas. Okra, maybe some fried catfish, cornbread...
Sometimes you miss stuff that isn't there anymore, even if you were to go back.
So you take what's around you and do what you can with what you've got. And we've got plenty. Which is hard to see sometimes. Wifey decided to give it a shot and pickle the melon's rinds by making up a recipe that included a little bit of soy sauce and some chili peppers.
When we do stuff like this, is dawns on me that we are creating memories for our kids... memories that they may some day look back on. Maybe even looking for guidance.
And it kind of stuck me in the gut when I heard what had happened last night. When I'd gotten in from work, the kids were already asleep, so Wifey and I spent some time talking. Small talk, here and there, and then we went a little deep, but not for too long.
You see, when you talk about some stuff before going to bed, it can call up things from below that won't be satisfied till they've devoured your dreams and deprived you of your peaceful sleep.
Just before bedtime, they'd had the TV on, watching a nature show. Son had asked Mom a question. Mom had explained what is kind of happening around the world. Where things are headed and how much of a mess we are making of this place... and the outlook for the future.
The news had upset Son so much that he puked.
