Tuesday, April 28, 2009

I Forgot - Again.

Since I'm going to be traveling back from Florida today and won't have a chance to post on my blog, I decided to dig up an old favorite. This was originally posted in May of 2007. Enjoy!
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Tonight for dinner, I made Pork Chops with Orange Rice. I especially love the orange flavored rice and was looking forward to enjoying this meal with my family.
The recipe for this dish is soooo simple, and the results soooo yummy I actually got it published in my favorite cooking magazine several years ago. Really, all you do is season pork chops with salt and pepper and brown them in cooking oil. Place 1 1/3 cups instant rice in a greased casserole dish, pour one cup of orange juice over the rice and top the rice with the browned pork chops. Then pour a can of chicken with rice soup over it all, cover it and bake it at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 more minutes. So simple! Too simple to mess up, right? You'd think so.
As I brought dinner to the table I noticed the rice around the edges looked a little dry. That happens sometimes, and when it does I just don't scoop around the edges. But tonight as I looked at the rice I realized why it was dry. I'd forgotten to put the orange juice over the rice.
Awwww. How could I have done that? This recipe is so simple. It's too simple to mess up. But somehow I managed to do it.
My family was very gracious. Everyone avoided the rice as best as they could, and just smiled politely as they spit out crunchy rice. Fortunately, the pork chops were still good and the bread was yummy. It wasn't a total loss. I still felt stupid for forgetting the orange juice, though. I mean, come on, I've been making this recipe for fourteen years now.

When it was time for the kids to start getting ready for bed, I directed Matthew to get into the shower and I started washing the dishes. Quite often, Matthew needs close supervision in order to complete his tasks. More than once, I have walked into the bathroom to ask if he's almost finished with his shower only to find out he's simply been standing under the running water and hasn't even started washing yet. But tonight he got the job done without much intervention.
I returned to the kitchen after checking in on him and was only barely aware of what he was doing for the next several minutes. Then I realized Matthew was standing in the dining room, still dripping wet. I called out from the kitchen, "Matthew, how about drying off and getting into your pajamas." He perked up and said, "Oh yeah," with the tone of voice that said, So that's what I'm supposed to do after I get out of the shower. I'm supposed to use this towel Mom gave me to dry off. Then since I'm naked, I should put something on my body, and since it's time for bed I may as well put on pajamas. Yeah, this all makes sense now.
I noted his tone of voice and thought to myself, Matthew, you're almost seven years old. Getting ready for bed is not a new thing anymore. You know what to do. Just then, I looked down at the dishes in the sink. Sitting right in front of me was the casserole dish. The one with dried rice stuck to it. I thought about that simple recipe I've been preparing for some fourteen years. The one that is too simple to mess up. I thought about the fact I'd forgotten to put the orange juice in the Pork Chops with Orange Rice. And I thought, Maybe I need to give Matthew a little more grace.

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8 comments:

Jessica Nelson said...

Awwww! Great story. LOL There's a box of rice I've made countless times but the other day I forgot to pour the seasonings in. I made the rice, dished hubby up and it wasn't until about fifteen minutes later that I understood why the rice looked funny to me. LOL!
My kids love running around naked. Trying to get them into pjs is like trying to herd a pack of wild elephants.

luvmy4sons said...

Praying all went well and for a safe journey home! Funny how we need grace and that need for it helps us to extend it to others!

LisaShaw said...

I truly enjoyed meeting you last night Karen. You are a beautiful breath of fresh air in a time when Mother's need you even more. They need to hear your humorous yet very real stories of how God has and continues to use your children to mold and shape YOU into His image.

I was blessed in our meeting and so thankful to make a new friend. Love you.

Jerralea said...

Karen,

Don't feel bad. We've all forgotten things - sometimes the things we do so much become routine and we do them without thinking. Not thinking can be dangerous!

I love the end of your post when you said, "Maybe I need to give Matthew a little more grace." That resonated with me, because how often has God given me a little more grace when He could have really cracked down on me! I'm so thankful He does extend grace because I sure need it!

LisaShaw said...

When you return Karen, I posted here on our meeting...
http://lisashawshares.blogspot.com/2009/04/when-god-does-it-its-always-perfect.html

Love you.

kreed said...

It may be an old post, but it was timely for me. I just had a talk with myself last night about needing to extend more grace to my 7 year old...it makes me feel better that I am not the only one that can forget to do that!

Teresa @ Grammy Girlfriend said...

Wonderful story.


I enjoyed reading your blog today ....

I am making so many new friends in the blog world.
Hope you will stop by and sign up for my give away on Thurs....

Amanda said...

Such an important reminder Karen!! Thank you for sharing an 'never old' message. Its much needed!

God bless-
Amanda