We had our first big cookout today…smoked 20 pounds of ribs, made enough potato salad to feed a small island, and had four different desserts. The day seemed to be going just fine until…the unthinkable. The ice cream maker stopped working midway through making my signature Peach Nehi ice cream. Noooooooooooooooooo…..this cannot be happening!!! I thought for sure that we had made it through this social event without some catastrophe.
As I was wallowing in self pity, fearing my ice cream would not make, my husband popped open the toolbox on his truck and came back with the magic solution…his cordless drill. All of those famous “You might be a redneck…” jokes came flooding through my mind when I realized that we were the very essence of redneck today. He popped the drill-bit into the ice cream maker and away it went, churning away with drill power. Approximately ten seconds after the drill began…it died. The excitement of a possible solution turned to dismay but was short-lived…battery charger to the rescue! After much care and prodding, the creamy mixture became the tasty frozen treat of the gods.
We sat down to a table covered with more food than a Baptist Sunday dinner on the grounds and a group of family and friends, joined by food but more so by camaraderie. It was a beautiful way to remember veterans as we had two sitting at our table; one from the Gulf War and one from the current war. They were among those who made it home safely and as we bowed our heads to pray, we thanked God for those who didn’t. It was also a great way to kick off summer as I carry on the legacy that my grandmother began and insisted that we continue after her death–keeping the family together. The roots of family run deep in my veins though I’ve only been blessed with a fairly small family, I’ve adopted family that I call “friends.”
After lunch, the kids played–indoors because, ironically, the kickoff to summer had a very soggy start. When one weary toddler became fed up with his brother, he entertained himself with his Van Gogh attempt at art…a small mural made from pencil all over my hallway wall. He was so proud of himself. The grin he wore was so sincerely proud that I simply could not punish him for what he thought was such a fantastic display of his artistic talents. The other kids tried to shake off the rainy day indoor boredom blues by having office chair relay. Redneck children can come up with the best games! They took turns pushing each other up and down the hallway in a small office chair to see who could go the fastest after the “pusher” let go of the chair.
Overall, it was a day without too much calamity which kind of scares me…is this the calm before the storm???
Messpot Diaries 