Generational Similarities

My eyes settled on him as we sat at a red light, not-so-patiently waiting for our turn to travel slowly down the crowded road. He stood in a parking lot, a heavy bag over his shoulder, looking down at a pothole large enough to swallow a car. It was the kind of pothole that most anyone would look at and just start cussing. It appeared that the man who was nearly doubled over from age was doing exactly that.

He gave that pothole a piece of his mind and then some.

The traffic light was a long one, so I continued to watch the old man in the tan jacket and freshly pressed slacks. He finished chewing out the pothole and slowly hobbled his way towards a car. "I really hope he's not going to be driving," I thought.

Call me Judgy McJudgerton, but I'm one of those people who thinks EVERYONE should have to take a driving test every five years or so. Half this world has forgotten how to drive, and it only gets worse as we all turn into senior citizens. The old man with the bag was so doubled over from the years that it seemed improbable that he could see over the steering wheel with any sort of effectiveness.

Fortunately, he walked past the car and headed for the bus stop. That seemed a much better idea in my judgy little head.

As the man walked, he periodically stopped, looked up, and chatted to the person standing next to him. Except, I couldn't see the person standing next to him. I'm sure that the man could and I'm sure that it was a fantastic conversation because he would pause every once in a while and smile. Whatever the invisible person in his mind was saying, it made him happy.

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She was supposed to be helping me wrap Christmas gifts. I sat in the midst of a pile of wrapping paper and gifts that Alexis had picked out, but her little fingers were doing nothing to aid me in the cutting and taping. Normally she's good for an assist or two, but on that night she was busy.

Alexis had pulled her little chair over to the Christmas tree and was rocking slowly in the chair. Back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth. All the while, her little mouth kept moving. It's the story of any 5-year-old's life. Always talking. ALWAYS.

Except, on this evening, every once in a while she would pause in her dialogue. After the pause, she would say something like, "You are so right!" or "Me, too!" or "Did you really?" and then she would smile.

Alexis was having a very animated conversation with a person who wasn't there. I tried to interrupt the conversation a time or two and was promptly SHOOOOOOOOSHED into silence.

Whatever the invisible person in her mind was saying, it made Alexis happy.

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As I listened to Alexis go on and on and on and on, I could think only of the old man and his similar conversation. We really do return to where we began, don't we?

Mini Cheesecakes

It's entirely too few days until Christmas, which means it's that time of year when it's not entirely uncommon to have to whip up some sort of magical food in an instant. Between office parties and neighbors inviting you over for dinner and kids needing treats at school, you could spend all day in the kitchen and still not have enough yummy stuff to go around.

Magic time, people.

Mini Cheesecakes.

Here's the thing--people assume that cheesecake is a pain in the ass to make. They think it's crazy time consuming, which, technically, it usually is. But there are ways to make cheesecake quickly and still have it taste AMAZING. Part of the trick is to stick to mini-sized cheesecake.

You start by whipping out a mini muffin pan, a bunch of mini cupcake liners, and some Mini Nilla Wafers.

Yes, Mini Nilla Wafers.

Why waste time making a crust when these work just fine?

Just place a Mini Nilla Wafer flat-side down at the bottom of your cupcake liners.

Crust. Done.

Next, mix some cream cheese, vanilla extract, eggs, and sugar. And that's it. Four ingredients. You can handle that, right?

Place a teaspoon full of the cream cheese yummy stuff in each cupcake liner.

And bake the Mini Cheesecakes for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Let them cool and then top them with whatever you like. I like Cherry Pie Filling myself.

Yum.

Seriously.

These are unbelievably good.

For best results, let them set overnight in the fridge. That'll help keep the cheesecake from sticking to the cupcake liner. Not that a little sticking will stop anyone from eating them, of course. Trust me. People pop these things like pills. (And by "people," it's possible I mean me.)

Mini Cheesecakes
(Makes approximately 48 bite-sized cheesecakes)

48 Mini Nilla Wafers (about 1/2 box)
2-8 oz packages cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
1 can cherry pie filling

1. Line mini muffin tin with mini cupcake liners (foil ones work best).

2. Place a Mini Nilla Wafer in each cupcake liner, flat side down.

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, eggs, vanilla extract, and sugar. Mix at medium speed until creamy.

4. Drop the cheesecake mix by teaspoon into the cupcake liners.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

6. Allow to cool for at least ten minutes. The middles will sink a bit. Don't sweat it. That's just your filling holder spot-a-majig.

7. Place a spoonful of cherry pie filling on top.

8. Allow to cool overnight in the fridge. Or not. Whatever. If you happen to accidentally eat one or ten right away, I promise I won't tell anyone.

Meet Benjamin

I've heard that it pretty much sucks to have a December birthday. To that I say, "Waaaaah. Waaaaah. Waaaaah," because January is just like December except without the sparkly stuff and cheer. Us January babies still end up with combined birthday and Christmas gifts, after all.

I digress.

This isn't about whining about birthdays being lame. It's about how sometimes people make birthdays magical.

This is Benjamin.

Benjamin is a December baby. Except, you know, he's not really a baby anymore. In fact, he *just* turned 8 years old. And that basket full of games he's sitting next to? Those are his birthday presents.

Well, not really.

But sort of.

Benjamin's mom contacted me about a month ago to ask if there was a way that Benjamin could donate his birthday presents to Christmas Crazy.

Hold on. Let me repeat that. Benjamin wanted to donate his birthday presents to Christmas Crazy.

So, that's what he did. He asked his friends to bring a toy he could donate instead of collecting as many gifts for himself as he could when he had a birthday party last week. His friends came through by showing up with what I would guess is about $300 worth of toys and games.

I got to meet Benjamin and his mom and little brother on Friday because they wanted to deliver that pile of toys to Womansplace. They wanted to see a difference being made. They wanted to give.

So, that's what they did. Instead of complaining about gifts being combined or his birthday getting overlooked in the holiday rush, Benjamin happily hauled a bunch of toys to Womansplace so that kids who wouldn't otherwise get a gift for Christmas can find a little joy under the tree next week. Then he stood in the middle of a giant pile of toys and helped us sort them in between moments of running around and playing and generally being a really happy little man.

Benjamin, you are amazing. Thank you for your generosity and awesomeness and for putting up with my requests for a zillion photographs of you. And thanks for being you.