I’ve started to write. Repeatedly. Since this morning.
I’m here (but I’m not), I’m typing (with interruptions), my mind is running through its series of checklists. It’s Grand Central Station, though it’s relatively quiet.
There was music making into the night. There were assorted college kids who have come and gone. The car keys are making the rounds. The kitchen is a disaster zone.
Again.
Sometimes, you surrender to it – the unexpected chaos, the unplanned excursions, the constant mess; the spontaneous, the circuitous, the ridiculous.
But there are compensations if you’re lucky. There’s laughter. There’s history in the making. There’s Russian Apple Sharlotka.
Kids as Young Adults, After Empty Nest
Empty Nest? I was just beginning to accustom myself to its rhythm, and recently, I’ve observed my diminished tolerance for the amped-up activity of college kids in the house. I’ve stressed over the conflicts in an abundance of roles, and feeling as though I’m doing a dreadful job at all of them.
I’ve also delighted in having my young men home. But seriously? A month off? The commotion? The expense?
Then again, they’ve both learned to cook while at college. One (my Creative Egg Chef) has been gracing me with the occasional omelet or Croque Madame, and last night, the other (my son, the Factory Worker) produced a Russian Apple Sharlotka!
Russian Apple Sharlotka
First he hollers from another room: “What’s a spring form pan?” Then, minutes later, he’s mumbling and scrounging for parchment paper.
I’m up, I’m moving, I’m explaining, I’m searching. I’m handing over a crisp new twenty…
A half hour later he’s back and at it, chopping and mixing a surprisingly simple list of ingredients:
- 6 Granny Smith apples
- 3 large eggs
- flour, sugar, vanilla extract
- powdered sugar and cinnamon (or allspice) to finish
I ask what he’s making and he tells me “You’ll love it.”
And he’s right, we did, using this straightforward recipe from Smitten Kitchen. Pop over and check it out.
It’s fast, easy, and the result is spectacular. So we’re Grand Central Station, with a side of Sharlotka!
A Toast?
The sun is shining, the errands are underway, the whirlwind in our household is nothing new though I’ve been out of the habit and I suppose I’m adjusting.
And in a week when it’s quiet I’m certain I’ll miss all of it. But for the moment?
There’s only the manic maternal merry-go-round: the grocery shopping and cooking to tend to, the stack of bills with more expenses than usual, the boys to shake my head at as I point to clean-up, to recycling, to the trail of dirty socks and towels, and remind them of the gas tank that needs refilling.
And later, if it calms down, perhaps we’ll sit together for another slice of that marvelous apple cake, and I’ll lift a glass in toast to the buzz and bustle of family.
Granny Smith Apple courtesy Flickr, CookbookMan17, Creative Commons License 2.0
Apple Sharlotka images, courtesy Yours Truly
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After your last post I was going on a diet, but I’ll have to postpone it now.
I took a little (evil?) pleasure in the juxtaposition of those two posts. And I had two servings of apple sharlotka – and I feel just fine about it. Besides – an apple a day keeps the you-know-who away.
Its so great to spend time with your kids, but it does disrupt routines and add expenses. One of those mixed blessings. And I have got to try that recipe!
Wonderful for cold weather, Carol. And sooooo delicious. (Try it with a bit of sour cream on top. Fabulous!)
Ahhhh, the delight and joy of anticipating a visit from any member of my army of young folk, including my recent college grad son (23); my stepson (21) who is STILL on winter break from Wesleyan until Wednesday and it’s friggin’ almost the end of January (I love my stepson, don’t get me wrong; but as my father-in-law says, “I’m convinced that the higher the tuition, the more breaks the students get.” I hear that. My (also recent college grad) niece/daughter (25) floats in and out less often now than I’d like, now that she’s grad-school bound and had two “kids”/dogs that she’s responsible for. And then there is my college grad / now-ready-to-be-in-NYC-to-map-his-own ambitious course “nephew” (24, and actually he’s the son of my favorite first cousin; we just find that it’s easier to use the labels “this is my nephew, this is my aunt” than “first cousin once removed…” He lives with me now — thank the great goddess — in the “country house/office” I rented for a year to write book number two and to do my radio show and that has served up an obstacle course of hilarious-in-retrospect challenges; he’s looking for an apartment in NYC and I’m going to be sad to see him leave. And myriad other young cousins, nieces, nephews (and niece/nephews-in-laws) and their posses are here, for a week or shorter or longer. Then they’re gone. Like you, like so many of my friends, it’s that crazy-mixed bag of emotions when they come, when they go. I’m always relieved to have my space back — and yet oh, how I miss them. ~ So I was just thrilled to read your recent MOTHER of ALL MIGRAINES post about the range of emotions and heart-felt pangs and roller coaster thoughts that we, as mothers and aunts and godmothers and mentors run through while trying to at once stay deeply connected to those we love while simultaneously preserving our creative chrysalis work + life spaces. ~ Empty nesting is the next uncharted frontier. I’m kind of loving it — most of the time. ~ Next up, my/our (but really mine, this time) new Golden Retriever puppy comes home at the end of March, around my son’s 24th birthday. Will my new “baby” render me a “former empty-nester”? ~ Sincerely and ambitiously, Debra Condren ~ AmbitionIsNotADirtyWord.com
Debra, Thanks for joining the conversation. But reading this – I don’t know whether to laugh or cry! 😉 Especially dragging through a long, long day in which the partying settled down last night about 2am, but the cooking in the kitchen at 4:30? Um… hard to sleep through the sounds of dishes clattering, microwave… nothing like beginning the day early, right?
I have to chuckle at your comment about “the higher the tuition, the more time off.” (And really… could there be a worse time for those lots of Excedrin to be recalled?) It is indeed a crazy mixed-bag of emotions, as you say, and unlike before leaving home, you can’t exactly send them to Time Out or dismiss the fact that they’re semi-on-their-own when they’re away.
A new puppy? You’re a brave woman!
This dessert looks scrumptious. I will definitely have to try it. I look forward to the day when my daughter cooks her own concoctions.