Sweet Sixteen

Sixteen years ago today I had one of the most fearful moments of my life. Well, that may be a little dramatic, but I was very pregnant with our second child. We had  moved two weeks earlier to the Eastside, one bridge away from Seattle where I was set to deliver. For those of you who do not live in this area, there's a really big lake that separates Seattle and the Eastside communities and  two bridges that connect them. Every morning and every afternoon many cars travel very slowly over those bridges as Seattleites and Eastsiders drive to work and back home. So my fear of going into labor during rush-hour, complete with visions of a bridge delivery dancing through my brain, was not a crazy one. Lucky me, my first contraction on May 14th arrived at 5:30am, just as all those little worker bees were leaving their garages and heading to the office. I was doomed to deliver in the backseat of our car; not exactly what I was hoping for. By 6:30 we were on the road. It was a beautiful blue sky day, and as we got on the freeway I was surprised to see the merging stop lights were off. The cars were travelling 60 or 65. What was going on? We continued. Still no brake lights in sight. We merged onto the 520 floating bridge. Surely we'd be in bumper-to-bumper traffic any minute. As we descended onto the bridge deck, the sight was miraculous. Snow-capped mountains, glistening water, rowing shells, a water skier, sun shining on Seattle, and not a traffic jam in sight. I was giddy with delight, at least in between each contraction. My  nightmare had been put to rest. We cruised on into Providence Hospital, and five hours later Nelson was born.

I originally planned to publish this post on Mother's Day and write an ode to mothers. Instead, I had myself one of the laziest days ever -- it was lovely. Not a chore was done, no meal was cooked. No games to attend, no work to finish. Bliss, sheer bliss. During my lounge-fest, I did manage to read the Sunday New York Times from cover to cover and came across  a fabulous piece entitled "After the Children Have Grown" by Madeline Levine, a clinician, consultant, and author of "Teach Your Children Well: Parenting for Authentic Success." I had never heard of Madeline Levine before Sunday, but she is my new best friend. Okay, that's taking it a bit too far, but she spoke many truths that hit home, some of which I have written about in this blog. Instead of trying to paraphrase, I will simply quote Ms. Levine as she talks about gaining a sense of being later in life: "Part of our sense of disruption around identity comes not only from the loss of a particular kind of relationship with our children but also because this loss is temporally close to other losses in the life cycle. Our younger selves have dissolved into menopausal clouds. We are too old to realize certain dreams. We've made choices that are not irrevocable: not making partner because of the kids or making partner and always feeling guilty about the kids...The chaotic diversions inherent in raising children cease, and we suddently find ourselves with time to reflect. What did we do right? Where did we fail? How do we spend our remaining time?" So true. I remember a wise instructor of a prenatal yoga class explaining that parenting is about letting go from the moment your child is born. I've thought about this for the last 18 years. As our daughter gets ready to finish her first year of college, I look forward to the other end of that thought -- the joy of always welcoming my children back into my arms.

The other useful thing I did on my supremely lazy Mother's Day was to research my next drink. I've been thinking about the Pisco Sour for quite some time now after reading about it in a magazine. As you might remember, the whiskey sour was one of the first "adult" drinks I ever had, so sours hold a special appeal.

Pisco was something I had never heard of, and judging by the quizzical looks I received from liquor store workers as I searched for a bottle of it, I'd say I'm not alone. It's a grape brandy made from the muscat grape in Peru and Child, and has a truly unique flavor. Several weeks ago I had the pleasure of actually going to a bar with some girlfriends. Yes, trying to get a sense of being later in life does have it upsides. We had a great time at Oliver's Twist, a cozy neighborhood watering hole in the Phinney Ridge/Greenwood area of Seattle. Having already become interested in the Pisco Sour, when I saw it listed as a drink option on their menu, my decision making was done. What arrived at our table was a beautiful  golden-colored drink with a beautiful foam on top. Within the foam was a decorative swirl of Angostura bitters -- truly a drink for me! The Pisco Sour is now my new favorite drink. Easy to make (once you find some Pisco which, by the way, should come from Peru) and full of interesting flavor. And I hope you're impressed with the beautiful swirls I created on top  thanks to bartending techniques observed at Oliver's Twist.

Pisco Sour
1 1/2 ounces pisco
1 ounce fresh lime juice

3/4 ounce simple syrup

1 small egg white

Several drops of Angostura bitters

Shake all the ingredients with 8 or 9 cubes of ice. Shake extremely well to create the foam on top and strain into a small cocktail glass. Add several drops of the bitters in a circle on top of the drink and then pull a toothpick through the drops to create a design. As with all sours, you can adjust the balance between the sweet and sour components to suit your taste buds. Salud.