Have you ever taken the time to make note of all of the “firsts” you may have experienced in your life? Let’s go one step further and talk about the firsts we experience with our kids. First steps, first words, first birthday, first tooth, first day of school, first crush, and first dance. We have pictures of those events. We even frame the majority of them. We glory in our children’s early endeavors “She first walked at 8 months!” “She didn’t dance close with any boy at her first dance!” Those were easy.
I just wasn’t prepared for the impact of a real first for both of us. She just boarded an airplane for her first solo trip out of town. She’s gone to spend a week with her aunt, uncle and cousin near Dallas. OMG, I thought I’d collapse.
Although she is already an adept traveler, we had always said that she could not go on her first airline trip alone until she was twelve. She turned twelve four days before.
Although turning twelve counts as a kind of a first, it isn’t one of those big birthdays. You know? Five is huge. It brings on kindergarten. Double digits comes in at ten, officially a tween, and you begin to prepare for that teen thing. Yipes! But the twelfth birthday was a big deal to her because traveler independence came with it.
My daughter’s birthday occurred on a Thursday this year, and her BFF laser tag, swim-in and god help me, “they are all spending the night,” b-day party happened two days later. Mom and Dad work really hard, sometimes too hard but not on birthdays. I’ll tell you what. I needed that day to shop, plan, and of course, make her favorite dinner – Lasagna.
I came across this particular recipe quite a few years ago and my tasteful girl took one bite and said something along the lines of “Could you please make this stuff for my birthday for the rest of my life, even after I get married and move away. I’ll always come back for my birthday Lasagna?”
I said, “Yes, absolutely, of course I will…can you bring friends home from college?”
Did I mention the fact that this particular classic costs about $10.00 per serving and takes 4-5 hours start to finish? It’s gorgeous!!
Butter, Olive Oil, pork, veal, ground chuck and prosciutto. Mire poix, garlic, rosemary, thyme, bay leaf. A small amount of tomato concasse; beef stock, red wine, milk and nutmeg. 2 hour simmer.
1 pound cooked lasagna noodles; bechamel (lots of it), fontina cheese (even more of it) and that astounding bolognese. Layer, don’t cover and bake for 45 minutes.
Try, just try, to have a salad with this. We did! We sat in the living room watching her most favorite movies; eating chocolate cake with Neapolitan ice cream and catching smiling eyes and grasping squealing hugs in thanks for the gifts that we could give.
She is my gift. Maybe not every minute of every day, otherwise you’d call me a liar, but certainly more than enough to make me realize that firsts are hard but always worth remembering.
I watched her walk down that jet way this week and not look back. She doesn’t do that. I held my phone to my heart to wait for her to text me that she got a good seat and that she was ok. Five minutes later, “Row 5, aisle seat, with a really nice couple.”
David and I laughed out loud and realized that she was okay and a bit more adult than we were prepared to accept. I cried a little for lots of reasons. First and foremost, I was so glad that first was over for me.
Live well, Eat well.
Heidi
P.S.
I was talking about the lasagna with a new friend of mine who is an Iron Chef America competitor, James Beard Award winner, crazy-ass Brit chef; and he asked with a slight scowl on his face, “Was it tomato based or Bechamel and Bolognese.”
“Bechamel and Bolognese,” I almost screamed with delight as I realized I had the right answer for this King of Cooking.
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