Sunday Stir-Fry

We are deep in the heart of summer now, friends. That time of year in Texas when we pretend it’s winter, sequestering ourselves indoors so as to avoid the scorching heat of Mother Nature’s wrath. Scurrying from indoor activity to indoor activity, staying just long enough to send the temperature in our cars soaring to a totally unbearable 120,000 degrees, causing third degree burns for anyone bold enough to touch a seatbelt buckle and unsightly thigh sweat for everyone else.

It’s miserable.

Couple that with the fact that we have almost nothing planned in July and there is no school, very few play dates (because everyone else gets out of dodge this time of year), and no sports to provide relief to the monotony and you have a recipe for disaster. And by disaster I mean non-stop bickering brought on by the age-old and totally true adage “familiarity breeds contempt.” 

That, well, I can totally handle. I’ve been a mom for 11 years now so this clearly isn’t my first rodeo. I know to avoid conflicts that begin with tattles like “Mom, she’s not sharing the good markers,” and also know, by the sound of the ruckus, the exact moment that a fight has gone from good clean fun to one tiny step away from an ER visit. I can turn a deaf ear to the little bickers and spats and can pretty much manage the sibling squabbles as they come. 

But what’s really been weighing on me this summer is something entirely different, and honestly, it’s pretty petty. I know it’s ridiculous, but it drives me crazy being the main go-to for all three of my children all of the time. For all the hours of all the days. They come to me (and me only) for everything.

There. I said it.

It’s not so much that I don’t want to help them, I honestly really do. It’s not even that they ask me for too much help, in many ways they’re extremely independent and do most things on their own. It’s more that they will bypass any other willing and capable adult in their path to come to me. My children can be sitting on the couch right next to my perfectly capable husband, yelling to me in another room, “Mom, I’m hungry.” I can be going to the bathroom and they will scream my name 10 times, never once approaching my husband who is just hanging out in the living room. I can be napping, my favorite Sunday afternoon activity, only to be awakened with a start as a child is staring right into my eyeballs, asking if I can help them find their missing sock. 

I don’t notice it as much during the school year, obviously. It’s a lot different when it only happens between the hours of 3-8pm and not every second of every day. But if I’m being honest, this summer it’s been exhausting. Yes, I know this isn’t fair. Yes I know it’s probably my own darn fault and that’s awfully selfish. But still, it’s exhausting.

So much so that this weekend I found myself being snappish and snarky about it. Saying things like “You walked right past your father to ask me this? Go ask him” and “Seriously? GO ASK YOUR FATHER.” I was not being my best mom self. 

And then, like He has a tendency to do, God put the tiniest little speed bump right in the way of my path of bitterness. I don’t profess to know His heart and mind well, but I’m pretty sure that there was a reason that I chose to sort through the giant pile of school folders and binders and notebooks that I have been avoiding since June 1 (other then the fact that I was hiding in the closet for some peace and quiet and used this task as an excuse). And I’m positive that I was meant to read this little essay my son wrote to answer the reading prompt: Who do you depend on? 

Who do you think he picked?

Yes, friends, my sweet sweet child chose me. Bitter, resentful, frustrated me. And as I read his little essay, filled with grammatical errors and chicken scratch kid writing (isn’t that the best? seriously, I love kid writing), I sat there feeling convicted and touched all at the same time. Tears sprang to my eyes as I read about his complete confidence that I will always be there for him, that I can be counted on to help, to care for and to nurture him when he needs it. He depends on me. I’m his Go-To. How can I possibly be bitter about that?

Friends, to be depended on because you come through for someone all (or most) of the time, is an awesome thing. It’s a responsibility, for sure. It can feel heavy. It can be weighty. But it’s awe-some in it’s grandest sense. My children depend on me because I’m their mom and I come through for them. I can be counted on to get up, do what has to be done and help them. 

And it took a focus adjustment from my nine year old for me to see the beauty of it and change my rotten attitude accordingly.

We all need those people, our clutch squad, even as adults. We aren’t meant to walk this walk alone. Even the most introverted of introverts need it. It’s how we’re designed.  But, just like our job as parents is to foster independence in our children, as an adult there is a delicate balance between a healthy reliance and complete dependence on our squads. 

I haven’t always struck this balance well, falling way too deep into dependence on the approval and opinions of others. I was like that scene in Runaway Bride, you know the one where Julia Roberts tailors her egg choices to the choice of her current fiance and can’t figure out what her own personal favorite is? Yeah, well the same could have been said of me for years. I’m so non-confrontational and such a people-pleaser that my neck was on constant swivel, agreeing with different and often competing viewpoints at each go around. It was exhausting and I was left hovering somewhere around complete confusion most of the time.

Because the voices of our squads, no matter how well-meaning, were never meant to be the loudest voice in the room. That’s reserved for the one that knows us best. And honestly, I had to stop listening to every voice and intentionally seek out that ONE voice in order to hear it. I know it sounds crazy, but I promise if you’re looking for the right guidance and you make God your first Go-To, eventually you’ll hear His voice. Listen for that first, and everything else will fall into place, I promise. 

We were created to be dependent on God, to turn to Him first. When we’re walking in accordance with His voice, that’s where true peace can be found. When we’re listening to others as our guiding light, well, that’s where things get hairy. 

So today, friends, I’m sharing one of my clutch player recipes with you. This is not a fancy recipe. It’s not pretty. It’s not gourmet. But it is easy. It is dependable. It is perfect for those Sunday night family dinners where you’ve got bits and pieces of things left in the fridge that you want to get rid of but aren’t sure how. It’s a catch all. I clean out my vegetable drawer many Sundays with this meal. I have used chicken. I have gone meatless. I have put it over rice or rice noodles or even plain old pasta. It’s such a go-to; it’s so clutch, and it frees up your fridge for a Monday re-stock without having to toss out some old mushrooms and peppers that you didn’t know what to do with. Use what you’ve got, make it your own, and thank your clutch squad for being in your life today.

Peace, love and squads,

Meg

Sunday Stir-Fry

May 31, 2019

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By: Meaghan Dawson

Ingredients

• For the Sauce:
• 1/4 low sodium soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• For the Stir Fry:
• 2 center cut pork chops or 2 boneless skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced
• 4 ounces mushrooms
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, halved and then thinly sliced
• 1 bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 large zuchinni
• Rice or Rice Noodles for serving

Directions

• Step 1 In a bowl, mix the sauce ingredients and stir until sugar is dissolved. Set aside.
• Step 2 In a medium skillet, heat a drizzle of olive oil on medium high until shimmering.
• Step 3 Thoroughly season meat with salt and pepper.
• Step 4 Add meat and cook, stirring often, until lightly browned and cooked through.
• Step 5 Remove from pan and set aside.
• Step 6 Add more oil to the pan if it seems dry and add onions, peppers and garlic, seasoning with salt and pepper.
• Step 7 Cook, stirring often until lightly softened.
• Step 8 Add zuchinni and cook for a minute or two more, until softened.
• Step 9 Add mushrooms and cook, two more minutes until browned.
• Step 10 Add meat back to pan and add sauce, stirring to coat.
• Step 11 Cook for 3-4 more minutes or until sauce is slightly thickened.
• Step 12 Serve over rice or noodles topped with sliced green onions, sesame seeds and srirracha (if desired).
• Step 13 ENJOY!

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