Have you ever noticed how time is flying by so quickly lately? Here it is, the end of September already. It just seems like yesterday when my kids were kids.
I was always told to enjoy my children while they are young because in a blink of an eye they are grown up and you will ask yourself where has the time gone. I love the time I have now with my young men, but at times I do miss the smaller stages of them. I guess that’s where I wait for grandkids to come into the picture.
Wasn’t yesterday just January? Wow, I remember back in the day when as kids we couldn’t wait to grow up and get our license or couldn’t wait to move out of the house.
Now, as I sit here I am thinking, “If I could only turn back the clock just one time.” One more time without having to be so responsible would be great. I would love to go back in my 20’s but know what I know now. Some of us would be dangerous. We sure would be better ahead knowing what we know now back then.
On another note, I don’t think I would go back to my teens. Going back to young adult married life would be good for me.
Why didn’t most of us listen to our elders? We thought we knew everything. We thought we could conquer the world. We just thought they didn’t know what they were talking about. Boy were we wrong.
I am sure I am not the only one that has had to eat her words on some advice that was given to by someone. There is still some advice I wouldn’t take to this day. But for the most part, my elders did know what they were talking about — and it was for our own good.
If I had one thing to tell young adults nowadays is listen to your elders in everything. It may not sound good at the time, but be assured you will use their advice one way or another.
If only I had one more day to spend at my grampy’s house sitting on the veranda. A “veranda” is a porch to those who don’t know. My grandparents use to have a covered porch where they lived in Canada and we would sit for hours listening to the adults give each other advice and tell stories.
I don’t know if any them took the advice, but they sure could give it. Then, there were the stories on how big the fish were or the deer that was shot. There was one story where the pig was smoking and burned down the barn! You just don’t hear all those great stories anymore.
Back in the day, everyone one worked hard and worked together. My family lived and worked the farm life. I think I could have lived back then working on the farm and cooking everything from scratch.
That being said, I would have to work on the gardening part. Maybe if I had the right teacher, and I focused on gardening, I wouldn’t kill everything.
I guess as I get older my mind keeps going back to the good ole days. I did have a good life compared to some. Life is so busy now. Who even sits on the veranda and talks anymore? I sure wish I could.
This recipe has been passed down from my sister and it is one of my favorites in the fall! It is healthy also. It is a win-win.
White Chicken Chili
1/4 c olive oil
1 leg onion chopped- 1 c
1clove garlic finely chopped
4c – 1/2 cubed cooked chicken or turkey
3 c chicken broth
2TBS chopped fresh cilantro
1TBS dried basil leaves
2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2 cans 15-16 oz great northern beans undrained
1 med tomato
Blue or yellow corn chips
Cook onion and garlic in olive oil til onion is tender
Stir in remaining ingredients except tomato and chips, heat to boiling, reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 1 hour stirring occasionally . Serve with tomato and chips
Tina Specht is co-publihser of the Minden Press-Herald. She shares her thoughts and recipes each Thursday.