Boys Will Be Boys

“It took a bit for our jaws to come back together on one spring day…”

By Millie The Accidental Cook

It took a bit for our jaws to come back together on one spring day when our sons were around the ages of 12 and 13 years old.

We lived and even shared a driveway with one of our widow neighbors. She was ‘keeping an eye’ on our sons while we kept an appointment. We had two very wonderful neighbors and really were like a family just living in different homes. Those two neighbors were better than the alarm systems of today.

The sons were playing in full view and the one that was ‘keeping an eye’ on them just admired how they worked so closely together on that day. She watched them play from her sunroom that was adjacent to our garage. Our back and side doors were so close that there were times when we felt as if we were in her house.

The year had been a year full of disappointments, joys and all those things in between. It was really just like most young people have when you’re bringing up children. You begin to meet yourself coming back from ball games, church, practice, school and work.

It had been some years since our sons had new bikes and the one good bike that they had left was down to the bare bones much of it of their own doing. It was hard though for two young boys to share a bike and so come Christmas their (or maybe I should say my mister and I’s) pride and joy were two brand new black 3 speed bikes with those special bars for sitting on the back. Oh they were stunningly beautiful and the most up-to-date bike models of the day. My mister and I were so proud of those bikes.

Well, on that bright sunshiny day those two wonderful, industrious young men with all of the excitement of discovering gold were so full of themselves as to how they were making them a good bike to go with their other good old bike. They were so excited and just knew that we were going to be so proud of them. And all of this transpired in probably one hour of time on that beautiful sunshiny day.

Of course they still had a lot to do. They had to sand down the bike to get the shine off so it would look sorta like their first bike. The wonderful neighbor, did I mention that she was in her eighties and couldn’t see very well, was just ecstatic as to how well they worked together and that they could build a bike, never even noticing that we were speechless.

Momma used to say that ‘boys will be boys’ and I truly believe that. They seem to have that discovery mode in them. They just want to know what or how things are made and what makes them work. That was just one day when our jaws dropped in disbelief. It was one in many throughout our lives and yet we have survived.
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Thoughts of those days brings back memories of that gas grill we used almost completely for our summer meals during one of those summers. My Mister had it set up just outside our back porch door and it was so convenient. Lots of times that delicious corn on the cob, hamburgers and hot dogs sure were enjoyed.

Thoughts of summertime and the need to be in so many places at the same time brings to mind the convenience of the “crockpot”. What could be better than a warm cooked meal after a hectic day of deadlines. My recipe for today takes minimal preparation.

ANOTHER RECIPE BY MILLIE

MILLIE’S BEEF STEW

  • 2 lbs stew beef
  • 6 medium carrots
  • 1 medium onion (optional)
  • 3 celery sticks
  • large can of stewed tomatoes
  • 2 bay leaves
  • salt & pepper

Cut the stew beef into about 1-inch cubes & remove the fat; cut the carrots into approx 1-inch slices (I use 2 packs of snack carrots). Cut onions into chunks; string the celery and cut into 1-inch slices. Place all ingredients into a crockpot then add tomatoes and bay leaves. Cook on high for 5-6 hours, add salt & pepper before serving.

This is delicious served on a bed of white rice… add a salad & dessert and enjoy!

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