In contemplating the joys of baked oats I can't help think how beautiful life is when it is simple. Have you ever been to the doctor and they ask you to fill out a medical history? There is an enormously long list of things to check yes or no. I am grateful for my genetics every time I have to read through this list. I have hay fever. That's it. The rest of the list I can draw a line down through the "no" column. I realize we aren't all blessed with this particular line, but we are all blessed in some wonderful way. We all enjoy at least one simple thing in life for which we can be grateful.
Simple. Can life really be simple and still fulfilling? Can we really take that one simple thing and use it to help us enjoy the things that really aren't so simple and beautiful. Perhaps. It takes a little more thought to live that way.
When we had our last two, and yes, they came at the same time, I felt like I was an experienced mother. I had given birth three times previous. My children were amazing! Were they perfect? Of course not! (After all, their mother is the essence of imperfect.) Nonetheless, they were astounding little miracles and these two new people we just as miraculous. However, who knew two at a time could be so exhausting? In case you didn't know, two at a time can be excruciatingly exhausting.
The first time I took them anywhere but to church or to the doctor, I felt pretty well drained, but the sunshine and good conversation at a small backyard barbecue was very inviting. Three mothers in attendance had twins, varying from age 5 to age 21. They had experienced what I was experiencing, or so I thought. During a simple conversation I was blindsided by one of those mothers. She said, "If you think you're tired now, just wait a few years. It gets way worse!"
I am not a crier. I was once even accused of lacking all emotion after destroying my ankle in a high school basketball game. Emotion has always just stayed inside. Twins changed that. I bit my lip after hearing this comment and suffered through the next couple thoughts before I could make an excuse to leave the conversation. Another twin mom noticed my state and pulled me aside to where I could cry my eyes out unnoticed by the party. How could anyone say such a mean thing? I was surviving, I loved my new little amazing people, but I was wiped out. Beyond exhausted. Could she really mean it? If she was really correct I would basically be dead as they got older.
Once I found the ability to staunch the tears and my mind cleared from the storm, I made a promise to myself. I would do my best to never say such a mean thing to another mother or another human being. She did not understand what I was going through even though she had given birth to twins. She was simply not me.
Even if we have experienced similar situations to others around us, we are not them. We do not live in their head. We do not dream their dreams or experience their pain. All we can do is help them enjoy the simple gifts and blessings they do have. In fact, if we really need to help them enjoy something simple, make them a pan of baked oats. Help them remember the simple joys of life, like not needing to wash a mixing bowl.
BAKED OATS
This is great for breakfast or a busy weeknight, served alone or with milk or cream poured over the top. The regular or quick oats change the texture, so try both and decide which you like best. (I prefer regular.) I usually add fresh or dried fruit, etc. when baking or serve fruit for topping individual servings at the table. You can even try it with pumpkin pie spice in place of the cinnamon. Make it your own, over and over again.
• ¾ cup packed brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp cinnamon
• 2 eggs
• 3 cups regular or quick-cooking
oats, uncooked
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• ¾ cups chopped nuts
Mix all ingredients together in a 9x9” pan. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes.
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