Things I Learned from My Dad

Daddy came to visit over Christmas and stayed until New Year's Eve.  He taught me how to make wontons - the right way.  I always thought I was an expert wonton maker, having appropriated my mother's recipe into my repetoire, but it turns out that Dad is the true expert.  I always held to the ONE TRUE wonton recipe: 50% ground pork, 50% minced shrimp,cooking wine, salt and water until the concoction loses its viscosity.  Not so, my dad explained.  My paternal grandparents, for example, like only pork in theirs.  Others prefer chinese leeks and pork.  Some of the crazies even add chopped shitake mushrooms.  The heresy!  

Daddy also has a special way of wrapping the wonton. His wontons don't so much look like gold nuggets as they do a papal crown.  He achieves it by turning the seals packet of meat upside down and attaching the sides of the wrappers instead of the corners.  At least we think that's what he does.  My mom and I have been trying to figure it out for years and have only been able to make close approximations to his wontons.  It must be in the wrist.  

Next, my dad claims that while a percentage of everyone else's wontons get soggy or fall apart, his retain the perfect moisture balance and always stay intact.  He claims he learned this from a professional wonton chef on a business trip years ago.  He brings the water to a rolling boil, throws an entire batch of wontons in, waits until they return to a boil, dumps a large bowl of cold water in, covers and waits for the wontons to float and water to boil yet again.  Wherever he got this technique from, it sure produces results.  I would have to say that he has won our family's generations-long wonton-making contest.  This is from a man who can make steamed rice, but not porridge...who can make fried eggs but not scrambled...and that's about all he can make, beside perfect wontons, that is!

The Master Wonton Chef

I thoroughly enjoy my dad's presence.  He has a way of expressing himself that's inimitable.  My favorite word on this trip was "UNBELIEVABLE!"  Dad, I'd say, guess how much I got this new throw pillow for, or that razor.  I'd tell him, and he'd say "UNBELIEVABLE!" which sent me into a whirl of delight.  I felt like pumping my legs with joy, just like Vera does.

What this visit reminded me of is that I'm eager to please my parents. In Sunday School, we teach the children a simple principle: God placed us in families.  And yet what a profound reality that is.  He gave us people to spend our lives with day in and day out, that we might delight in one another's company, that we might come to appreciate all their intricate makeup, that we might learn to love.  A lover's relationship to his beloved, a child's relationship to her parent, and a parent's experience of her child, sustain us in a beautiful cycle of service and gratitude and love.  Kind of a God clue, no?  An uncannily trinitarian in nature - Tim Keller writes about the love and honor that is shared between the members of the Holy Trinity. How profound, and yet perfectly mundane and easily missed, are the ways in which God demonstrates His reality to us, that we might grasp the things of heaven.  

Anyway, so I want to please my father, both earthly and heavenly, because as I spend more and more time with each, I learn how much I truly love them and how much I appreciate their presence.  From my earthly father, I learn the attitude I am to cultivate with my heavenly father.  From my heavenly Father, I understand just how meaningful are my relationships here on earth, because they are a reflection of a greater reality.

What I did today:

Woke up, gorgeous day today!  crystal clear air...beautiful views of greenery and snow-capped mountains. First item on the agenda, new house stuff - day 1 of hardwood floors, french doors installed today, discussion with contractors etc. 

Brunch at Original Pancake House.  We found a location that serves my spinach & mushroom crepes with a side of four potato pancakes!  I've been ordering that menu item since my Chicago days and visiting Walker Bros Original Pancake House (same logo) on Green Bay Rd.  I've been looking for it for years at other Original Pancake House locations, and have been fruitless until today! It was AWESOME.  My favorite things wrapped into one.

To the bank on bank business with the family after brunch, then shopping.  Mike is hilarious when it comes to any form of shopping other than grocery shopping.  He gets all excited (and sincerely excited, I might add) about going out as a family to browse the deals, but within 20 min. of entering any non-food store, he develops a headache, dons this exhausted, lost expression and has nothing in mind but to get out as quickly as possible.  That's what happened today...AGAIN.  He says there are just too many options and variables to consider when shopping and he just shuts down from the tremendous detail of it all. HAHA.  I think it's really cute, and also, it makes me proud that I can provide for my family in a unique way that he finds challenging :) Well, we got a lot of great deals for the new house today.  We came home and packed a bit more and did chores.  I went back out to Target, CVS and Ralphs to take advantage of some great deals that are set to expire tomorrow. We bathed Vera together, played with her and put her to bed.  She didn't want to sleep, so Mike said to her, "Vera, if you say 'I love you,' Papa will get you out of bed."  And she did it!  She said "AHWOUVOU"  SO CLOSE!  I'm not sure about this bribery tactic, but she seemed really proud that she was able to make the sounds AND get out of bed for a few more minutes of play.  We've been trying to engage her in various ways so that she'll take an interest in learning.  It's tough because she's a strong-willed one and always has a project of her own to attend to...mmmm...sounds like me! GAAAA!