The Agenda War

While some families strive and stress to keep up with the Joneses, my family's struggle for glory is more internal in nature. And while the typical family looking to one up their neighbor measures and ranks wealth, stature, cars, kitchens, and closets full of crap, our familial rivalry is rather immaterial. Every weekend, the text messages fly from pool lanes to opera houses; from the nation's skies to its great lakes, from one's room with a view to someone else's with an arguably better perspective, as we engage in an innocent game of who is having more fun with their 48 hours of freedom. As soon as the first cocktail is poured on Friday at 5:00 PM, lines are drawn and the battle of the ultimate weekend agenda commences.

At a young age my parents preached that we should make every trip count, that an idle hand is the devil's workshop, and that time is money. The combination of these valued life lessons has made each of us agenda over achievers, trying to make the most of our time in and out of the office. Sure you can just go to the pool for the day, but if you can go to the pool, network your way into five business deals, eat the best, yet healthiest lunch you've had in decades, learn how to prepare said recipe, swim a zillion laps, teach all the children around you how to swim as well, read one book, two magazines, and every leading national newspaper, tan evenly, and find time to have a couple laughs, well than that's a quality pool day. 

While my brother, sister and I dare to compete with my Mom and Dad every weekend, generally they win without contest. In fact, I'm willing to bet that their calendar could often times beat out the most intense presidential schedule.

There were times, days, weekends when I was favored to win the war, but since Mary has come along our ability to cram in as much as possible has been limited. Recently, a friend even asked how all the other stuff was coming - she had read about motherhood, but she wondered if I was still gardening, running, cooking, baking, and entertaining.

While I've been focusing on small wins in the kitchen, around the backyard and on the sidewalks of Chicagoland for the past three months, this week was different. As Mary becomes more and more acclimated to life, calculating her agenda becomes easier and easier, and Peter and I have been able to move ourselves further and further from an established comfort zone. This week, we nearly did it all: there was a pretty rapid 5K run (3.1 miles in 20:50 - boom!) followed by a barbecue with the Joerns, a trip downtown - 20 miles in the car for Peter and Mary, just 10 for me because I jumped out halfway to get a run on the Lake in, boating, a bargain night out at Vie with Claire and Trent (best French 75 ever!), visitors, a week-long love affair with rhubarb - in the form of crumb cakes, crumbles, and an iced slab pie, FIGS!, trimming roses, and (oooh, ahhh) vacation planning! Arguably, to a fussy little baby on Sunday night, we did too much.

So as Mary starts showing signs of crawling, so too are her parents, eeking our way back into more adventurous routines and all the other stuff that makes us who we are. But we're still a far cry from first place.

On today's agenda - baking a birthday cake for Uncle Trent and wishing the gold medal winner in calendar court, my Mom, a very happy birthday!

Lo.

Fig Salad with Prosciutto, Goat Cheese and Toasted Walnuts 
Serves four 

Six fresh figs, cut in half
Four slices prosciutto, cut into strips
4 ounces Cyprus Grove purple haze goat cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup toasted walnuts, halved
Red leaf lettuce, enough for four salad plates
1 teaspoon honey
2 tablespoons salad oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
Salt, pepper

Make dressing by whisking together honey, vinegar, oil, salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a large bowl, toss lettuce with dressing and goat cheese.

On a salad plate, arrange portion of lettuce. On top place three figs, ribbons of prosciutto and toasted walnuts. Serve.