Red Mango Slaw and Marriage

Red-Mango Slaw

     In the middle of winter, I love the tastes of citrus!  Blood red oranges, lemons, and limes are a common ingredient in our daily cooking.  Frequently, I am trying to find sides to dishes that need a bit of flare.  This particular slaw is tart and sweet and adds a lot to a sushi or bean dinner.

Toss together:
2 cups shredded radicchio
1 cup shredded purple cabbage
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 TBSP sliced green onion
1/2 cup finely diced mango
1 sectioned and diced blood red orange

Whisk and add to above:
1/2 cup olive oil
juice of 1 blood red orange
juice of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lime
2 TBSP honey
1/2 tsp sea salt
black pepper to taste

     Waking 

by Stephen Dobyns

Waking, I look at you sleeping beside me.

It is early and the baby in her crib

has begun her conversation with the gods

that direct her, cooing and making small hoots.

Watching you, I see how your face bears the signs

of our time together-for each objective

description, there is the romantic; for each

scientific fact, theres's the subjective truth-

this line was caused by days at a microscope,

this from when you thought I no longer loved you.

Last night a friend called to say that he intends 

to move out; so simple, he and his wife splitting

like a cell into two separate creatures.

What would happen if we divided ourselves?

As two colors blend on a white pad, so we 

have become a third color; or better,

as a wire bites into the tree it surrounds,

so we have grown together.  Can you believe

how frightening I find this, to know I have 

no life except with you?  It's almost enough

to make me destroy it just to protest it. 

Always we seemed perched on the brink of chaos.

But today there's just sunlight and the baby's 

chatter, her wonder at the way light dances

on the wall.  How lucky to be ignorant,

to greet joy without a trace of suspicion,

to take that first step without worrying what 

comes trailing after, as night trails after day,

or winter summer, or confusion where all

seemed clear and each moment was its own reward.

     I loved the recent article in March's Christianity Today entitled "A Holy Tension" by Megan Hill. 

She explains the recent peak of interest in the Fifty Shades trilogy to "a culture seeking to flee sexual boredom" when in fact "God's design (of marriage) actually provides the necessary spark for sustained passion."  She goes on to beautifully describe marriage as "an ever-evolving challenge, and the tension created by meeting that challenge is the key to its passion- and its success."  She also states that "romance can be fueled by an honest acknowledgement of that potential to fail."  I loved the pure honesty in this article and how true that the somewhat mundane happenings in a long, sustained marriage can be full of tension but it is how we deal with this tension which determines the outcome of the relationship.  Never expect marriage to be easy.  Marriage is a challenge.  A challenge that should constantly display love and grace and yes, passion!