Theology and 5-Yr.Olds

Our oldest granddaughter will be moving on to middle school next year (nooooooo, say it isn’t so!). It used to be so easy knowing which school your child will be attending, but now the multitude of options leads to the need for much more consideration about where to go. There are math magnets and science magnets and music and arts magnets, for example. There is also the neighborhood school where it is likely that most of her classmates will go.

Anyhoo, Addie spent much of yesterday shadowing a middle school student at the neighborhood school as part of her consideration process. In the morning, her mom and dad attended a parents’ meeting. That left the other three kids without rides to school, so Nana and Papa to the rescue! Bill took the two middle kids to their nearby school, and I took the little one, along with a neighborhood friend, to their kindergarten class which is a ways away.

Let me tell you, if you are in a bad mood, just drive two exceptionally bright 5-year-old girls to school and listen to their conversation. You will undoubtedly be smiling when you drop them off. At one point, my granddaughter was telling her friend about skiing Mt. Kilarest. Hmmm. Mt. Kilarest might be a mountain with the height and majesty of Mt. Everest and the volcanoes of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Perhaps it’s located somewhere in Nepal? I don’t remember her being gone for that long. But she said it with such conviction that I certainly believed her.

I especially liked our theological conversation. My little Maggie tells me, “Nana, I have a dad who will never die.” I asked her to explain. “God,” she said, ever the good little church-going Presbyterian. Her little friend, not to be undone, says, “And Mary is our mother.” I nod enthusiastically, happy that they are absorbing their Sunday school lessons. Then Maggie’s friend asks me, “Nana Kris, is Mary dead?”

Now, I was in no mood to get into Catholic vs. Protestant theology. (As you may know, Catholics believe that Mary did not die, but instead was assumed body and soul into heaven.) “Well,” I said, “I am sure she is in heaven because she was the mother of Jesus. Now, Molly, have you ever skied Mt. Kilarest?” I am the master at changing the subject with kids.

Later in the day, Bill and I had a late breakfast at a neighborhood restaurant, where I had a rather pleasant experience. As we walked in, the hostess, who looked to be no older than 25 or

so, greeted us with “Just the two of us?” Now, I am a big fan of vocal jazz, and one of my favorite songs is Just the Two of Us. Quite obviously, Bill Withers isn’t a big star amongst the 20-something age group (or really any age group, except those of us who like vocal jazz). Before thinking (which I am wont to do), I sang the first line of that song: “Just the two of us, we can make it if we try.” Much to my surprise, the young woman completed the next line: “Just the two of us, you and I.”

“Well,” I said. “I am surprised that you know that song. Are you a fan of Bill Withers?” She told me that she grew up in Iowa, and her mother would take her out for breakfast, at which she would invariably sing “Just the two of us, we can make it if we try…..” Her story seriously made me tear up. Here’s why. As parents or grandparents, we are never sure which of the things we say to our children or grandchildren have an impact. But it seems to me that it is usually those things that seem absolutely unimportant at the time. My new friend’s mother likely had no idea that her singing that song would be such a pleasant, and obviously lifelong, memory to her daughter.

It made me think back to my conversation with the two little girls in the car that morning. I rather doubt that anything I said will change their lives. But I must not forget that it’s the little things that my grandkids are going to remember about me, and they’d better be good.

And speaking of memories, one of my favorite memories is my mother making her delicious meat loaf. I am a big fan of the meat loaf, but this recipe is different than most meat loaf recipes. Perhaps the biggest difference is NO KETCHUP. That is in the plus column for me. I don’t particularly dislike ketchup, but I’m not nuts about it as part of my meat loaf.

I wouldn't be surprised if many of you reading this blog have a favorite meat loaf recipe. Share it with me via comments! Even if it has ketchup.

Mom’s Onion Gravy Meatloaf

Ingredients
1 lb. ground beef
1 slice bread, torn into small pieces
1 c. milk
1/8 t. celery salt
1 pkg. onion gravy mix
1 egg, beaten

Process
Place the bread in a small bowl and pour the milk over it. Add the package of onion gravy mix. Let it sit for 15-30 min., until the bread has absorbed most of the milk. Add the ground beef and the beaten egg, and mix just until combined.

Bake in a loaf pan for one hour at 350 degrees.

Nana’s Note: The resulting meat loaf is more moist than your typical meat loaf. I have played around with the recipe, decreasing the amount of milk, using bread crumbs instead of cubed bread, etc. I have never been satisfied, because it then doesn’t taste like the meat loaf my mommy made. I serve it with mashed potatoes and additional gravy.