Mind-Body-Soul Series #3
Mind-Body-Soul Series #3
Kate Bowler, Ina Garten's Perfect Roast Chicken, and the City that Never Sleeps
The Mind-Body-Soul series is a weekly round-up from Human/Mother that aims to feed the minds, bodies, and souls of “cycle-breakers,” or “people who identify and intentionally change negative patterns, behaviors, or traditions within their family or relationships.”
Before we dive in, I have a few *words*:
First, I want to give a big, warm welcome to my new subscribers! I started this tiny publication last February and have been slowly molding, building, and refining this space. I’m so proud of the writing that I’ve released here and feel so privileged and honored to have your vote of confidence in this wonderful, daunting work.
With that said, I would also like to announce that I’ve surpassed 50 subscribers this week! I’m completely floored by the support and encouragement from you all and want you to know that I am committed to you and the exploration of the complexities of being a human and also being a mother. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Mind:
I promise I’m not getting paid to promote Rainn Wilson’s Soul Boom podcast, but I have to promote my most recent digest: the Kate Bowler episode titled “Can Faith and Anger Coexist?”. I listened to it on our flight back from NYC in a sleep-deprived slumber, but Bowler’s perspective on faith, grief, and anger really perked me up. The interview was so refreshing to hear as an ex-PK (“Preacher’s Kid), a griever, and a childhood trauma survivor, who struggles with how to go about faith and religion. Bowler, a Canadian academic and theologian, provides food for thought in a very raw, realistic, and reasonable way, and if you aren’t feeling inclined to listen to this particular episode, then perhaps checking out her podcast, Everything Happens, would be a preferred route.
P.S. Listening to someone who works at one of my home state’s universities, Duke, adds another layer of comfort that’s hard to describe but reliably there—like God or the forest or Haagen-Dasz ice cream.
Body:
There’s nothing like walking thousands of steps in “the City that Never Sleeps” for a week to remind your body how many years it's clocked. Erik and I spent last week in the Big Apple in celebration of fifteen years of marriage. Yes, you read that correctly: fifteen years. And although we lived in NYC for six without a car, the last four of living in a car-required small town (and birthing two beautiful babies) have really added a few exclamation points to my body’s messaging to itself: “You’re not as young as you used to be!!!” All jokes aside, I found that the fast-paced life isn’t for me anymore; I’ve happily settled into that quintessential, “slow-livin’” Southern lifestyle, and I’m here for it.
To recuperate from late nights and lively imbibements, I’m resetting my body this week by prioritizing hydration, home-cooked meals, and rest. Tonight, I’ll be making my go-to baked chicken recipe: Ina Garten’s (or Barefoot Contessa’s) Perfect Roast Chicken. I’ve used this same, exact recipe since our first year of wedded bliss, and it never fails. Like our marriage, it’s loyal, steadfast, and comforting—it’s home.
Instead of stuffing with thyme, I’ll use rosemary from our garden and, of course, add the lemon and garlic. Because I don’t have fennel on hand, I’ll cut up the called-for carrots and onion and add in some quartered baby bella mushrooms. The pan drippings from this dish are absolute heaven, and I fully support buying a local, fresh-baked baguette to gather up all that buttery, herby goodness. It’s perfection, every time.
For sides, I’ll steam broccoli with Kerrygold butter and chopped garlic and bake local sweet potatoes. Like God or the forest or Haagen-Dasz ice cream, it’s a reliably fulfilling meal that my family enjoys at least once every two weeks, and I hope it finds its way into your own family’s weekly meal plan rotation.
Soul:
ICYMI: we were in NYC last week, and there was a lot of soul-filling type of activity. Highlights included breaking bread with old friends and visiting art museums (or both!). If you’ve been following Human/Mother for the past few months, you know that art museums are one of the places where I seek refuge, so I was elated to re-visit the Whitney and the MoMa. In addition, we dined at old favorites (Ba’al Cafe and Falafel, Brookside Market, Takesushi, Paulie Gee’s, Joe’s Ginger, Birria-Landia) and new (Le Crocodile, Topaz Thai Authentic, Milady’s, Fish Cheeks, Breads Bakery, Mercado Little Spain). We also saw Stereophonic on Broadway and a comedy show at Comedy Cellar’s Village Underground that featured SNL’s Marcello Hernandez and Chris Redd.
And, as we went through the motions of a life-gone-past, we yearned for the motions of our life-now as parents of two tiny humans, who are 4 and 2. While we sat and sipped aperol spritzes at the Central Park Boathouse, we watched as visitors comically rowed tiny boats over the small slice of dark water in the middle of a buzzing metropolis and dreamed about taking our two suns on the same body of water one day. We imagined what our oldest daughter would say when she saw the Bethesda Terrace or Fountain (“Mom! Dad! It’s beautiful!”), and we wondered whether or not our youngest would jump right into the murky pool. Like her middle namesake—Hudson—suggests, she is our “water baby.”
The next day, we sauntered down the High Line after brunching at Spanish Diner and imagined what our oldest daughter would say about the middle-aged guy really getting down on the xylophone, playing old pop hits like Jackson Five’s “ABC,” and we wondered what our youngest would think of the crowded walkways, full of people of all ages, speaking all languages, and painted all colors. She’d likely be conflicted: wanting to cling to us but also wanting to reach out and say hello to passersby.
Once we made our way onto Little Island, we imagined our oldest daughter giddily exploring the available musical instruments for kids, and we wondered how long it would take for our youngest to join in on the fun. Our guess was no time. She follows her sister’s lead with zero hesitation and with absolute certainty.
This inaugural trip away from our kids verified that extreme dichotomy of parenthood: our souls ache for the life we lived both individually and together and also bursts for the life we have now as a family of four. Our children bring so much light into our lives, illuminating the darkness that still exists and persists underneath the river that keeps flowing, keeps carving, keeps taking.
Returning to my pride and joys did more for my soul than our entire trip combined and reminded me what really matters in the end: them. Yes, there are certainly moments whenever I wish to not be a mom for just a day or two, but there are also numerous times when I am overcome with gratitude that I am their mom. I am one of the two people who gets to really see and know them first-hand, consistently, every single day. I am one of the two people who lights up their world just as much as they light up ours. For the time being, I am their everything, and they are my everything. And that’s a love story for the ages—a story worth telling, a story worth shouting from the rooftops.
Until next time,
Katrina
Homework: What has nourished your mind, body, and/or soul this past week? Let’s lift each other up! Sound off in the comments below.
