A Father’s Perspective

The View from My Section – A Father’s Perspective

A Pandemic Lesson

BY A. KEITH TILLEY

It’s nearing the end of summer, and (hopefully, at the time I’m writing this) we’re continuing to make good progress on the virus to move back towards a sense of normalcy. The strangeness of this time is still present; but, at least we have a sense we’re on the back nine of this treacherous journey.

As I reflect on this moment in time, I’m beginning to understand things that you don’t often see when you’re in the middle of something uncomfortable. Among the difficult and challenging rules and regulations we had to follow (and still are, somewhat) to save as many lives as possible, there were the occasional benefits from all this.

There’s one thing in particular that I benefitted from through all the quarantine and isolation. When you’re “confined” with someone 24/7 you get to see what you “feel” is their negative traits flourish in front of you. Often, the person no long perceives the need to appease you by controlling some of their undesirable traits, because, after all, what can you do about it? We’re all stuck in here together. This produces a difficult situation to be in, for sure.

Of course, I know this person could say the same thing about me. So, let’s just get that truth out of the way from the outset. I mention this not to belabor the negative, because what resulted was actually a positive. The day-in-and-day-out of this experience has allowed me to see beyond their exterior. I’m not shallow; I’ve looked beyond the surface in the past, but the extended isolation can force you to look deeper than you ever have before. If you want to live happier, that is.

I saw not only what this person did that was irritating, I began to understand why they did it. I understood more fully this was a part of them, and wasn’t being done simply to bring me discomfort. Initially, to be honest, this was disappointing. After all, if this was inherent in their nature, then a change might never happen. But one day, almost by design, as if someone were trying to open my eyes, I felt compelled to abandon the failed approaches I had made in the past to address my concerns. This was not done out of any sense of surrender or failure to make things better. On the contrary, it was merely taking a different road to get to a destination I had longed to reach. The interesting thing was, although the undesirable actions continued on this person’s part, they no longer had the same impact on me as before. And that’s when I realized what was happening.

You see, it wasn’t that I suddenly appreciated or liked these actions that prompted this new outlook. It was that I no longer was trying to control these actions. In doing so, I no longer felt the burden of trying to fix something in the way I felt it should work. Instead, I began to accept it the way it is. I learned that my choice now was to adapt. As the saying goes, “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.” Sounds easy, or maybe not, but either way, acceptance is hard sometimes. Not so, at this moment. Maybe it was the pandemic. Maybe it was knowing that there was a possibility that on any given day, one or the other of us may get sick, and not be able to have a proper goodbye.

Regardless of the reason, it changed me. It changed how I responded to them. It changed how I saw them. It lowered my stress level. I no longer felt the need to concern myself with these types of things. It’s not that these things were never important, or any less important; it’s just that I realized there are some things in life you must learn to work around. And again, that goes both ways. I’m older now, I’m more set in my ways, so I can’t be surprised when someone else is, too. We’re not perfect, we all have flaws. Age and experience can teach us, if we’re open to it, to learn to adapt to the “perceived flaws” in our loved ones. The important thing is for both sides to work in unison to make life better for all, whether that requires acceptance or change; and not forget the things about them we love so much.

Realize, I’m not saying one should accept everything in every case. Some things are not acceptable. This wasn’t the situation for me, though. I had found myself swimming against the current and tiring out needlessly. When I turned around and let the current take me (acceptance), maybe I didn’t get to the precise result I wanted, but it was certainly a much more relaxing approach.

PhotoArtistry by Melinda

St. Patrick’s Day Treats

BY KRISTI JOHNSON MARION & EMILY DODSON Back to School Bento Box Lunch Ideas! BY KRISTI JOHNSON MARION

If your kids, like mine, are not fans of sandwiches, or they’d just like some variety in between the sandwiches, here are some great healthy “Bento box” ideas to put into your lunch rotation! What is Bento? Bento is of Japanese origin, and at restaurants often means “a little bit of everything.” Bento has evolved from rice or noodles and fish or meat to become a creatively packed, often healthy, balanced lunch in a tray with portioned compartments. Additional ideas include chicken quesadillas, breakfast for lunch (think oatmeal, yogurt, fruit, and a boiled egg), and hummus with chips or mini-naan flatbreads and veggies.

HARVEST CHICKEN SALAD

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups cooked Chicken (a great use of leftover rotisserie) ½ cup plain full-fat Greek Yogurt 1 Tbsp. grain Mustard 1 tsp. Honey 1 tsp. fresh Parsley, chopped ½ tsp. Cumin 1 Apple, cored and chopped ¼ cup Pecans, chopped 2 Tbsp. Cranberries, dried and chopped Salt and Pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the yogurt, mustard, honey, parsley, cumin, salt and pepper.

2. Stir in the cooked chicken, apple, pecans and cranberries until well mixed.

Serve in the Bento box with crackers, cucumber slices, melon (cut out with a star cookie cutter if you’d like to make it extra fun) and sunflower seeds. Don’t forget to pack a spoon!

SPINACH PESTO PASTA

INGREDIENTS:

½ cup shredded Chicken (optional) 1 cup cooked spiral Pasta (or other favorite shape) 2 cups Basil, de-stemmed 2 cloves Garlic ½ cup Parmesan Cheese ½ cup Olive Oil 5 Cherry Tomatoes, sliced in half 2 Tbsp. Corn Kernels, cooked 4-5 small Mozzarella Medallions, sliced in half Salt and Pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a food processor or blender, pulse basil, lemon, garlic,

Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper a few times, then run at full speed while drizzling in the olive oil. Blend for 20-30 seconds until well incorporated. If you like, add ¼ cup of pine nuts or walnuts, and reduce cheese to ¼ cup before blending.

2. In a medium bowl, place cooked pasta, chicken (if desired), sliced tomatoes, corn and mozzarella. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the pesto sauce (more if you like lots of pesto), until all ingredients are well blended. Store the remaining pesto sauce in the fridge for 5 days or 3 months in the freezer.

Serve in the Bento box with black olives, berries.

2 MINI-PIZZAS

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE CRUST: 2 English Muffins, mini-naan Flatbreads, a Pita pocket or Flatbread, ½ cup Mozzarella Cheese (shredded), 2 Tbsp. Pizza Sauce, Marinara or Pasta Sauce, Mushrooms, sliced (or their favorite toppings)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Toast your crust of choice for 5-7 minutes until crispy on the bottom. 2. Top with sauce and favorite toppings and broil on low until the cheese is melted.

Serve in the Bento box with small salad with dressing, or baby carrots and sugar snap peas with ranch dipping sauce and applesauce.

Celebrations

The Surles family enjoyed their first WS Dash baseball game! Weston shows off his foul ball prize and Emsley has already asked mom Becca if they can go again!

Celebrating our Diverse Readership

Caesar Cranfill of Advance, NC can’t seem to decide

if he wants to read Forsyth

Family or Forsyth Woman

first! Thanks Lisa and Jeff for submitting these fun photos!