Empty Nest in the Midwest

How do you stay active after your children have left the nest?

LC

Banana Chocolate Chip Pecan Muffins for the Road (or maybe not)

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I had three overripe bananas on the counter. Since LC is heading back to college tomorrow and JD is heading back to Springfield, I thought I’d make some banana muffins. I asked LC if he wanted chocolate chips or pecans in them. He said both.

The muffins are cooling on the counter right now. One is already gone. So I’m not sure any of these will actually make it on the road with my traveling boys. But that’s OK if they enjoy them here also.

Banana Chocolate Chip Pecan Muffins

These banana muffins are a perfect snack or breakfast for your busy college student. The chocolate and pecan add extra comfort to this sweet treat.

Ingredients  

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 3 ripe bananas
  • 6 tbsp butter melted
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar packed
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tbsp milk
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans
  • 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Instructions 

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Line 12 muffin tins with cupcake liners.
  3. Stir the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
  4. Put the bananas in the bowl of your mixer. Beat until just mashed.
  5. Beat in the melted butter, brown sugar, egg, vanilla extract, and milk until just mixed.
  6. Add the dry ingredients to the mixer. Mix until just combined. (Do not overmix)
  7. Fold in the pecans and chocolate chips.
  8. Spoon the batter into the lined muffin tins.
  9. Bake for 20 to 24 minutes, or until set and lightly brown.
  10. Let cool. Enjoy!

We Are Not All in the Same Boat, But We Are in the Same Storm

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You may share this image provided you provide a link back to https://emptynestmw.com or one of the Empty Nest in the Midwest social media accounts (see the website) and include this notice with your post.

We are not all in the same boat, but we are in the same storm. Some of us are in a yacht. Others are in a leaky rowboat, barely keeping afloat. Many are somewhere in between. The current issues of institutional racism and the pandemic affect each of us differently.

This is a very different year for us. My younger sons came home from college in mid-March and finished their semesters via distance learning, which is not the college experience they were hoping for. DS graduated with degrees in Computer Science and Computer Engineering, but cannot find a job in the current market. JD – also with degrees in Computer Science and Computer Engineering – just found out he is getting laid off next week due to the company he works for in Jeff City downsizing due to lack of projects. ZD and LC would have been working at Cub Scout camp staff and living away from home this summer, but camp was cancelled so they are also at home.

So our nest is not so empty anymore. All four boys back home!

But we are in a yacht. We are able to provide for them and live comfortably. We have our RV to take off in when we want to get away. The boys are old enough to take care of themselves. And it has been an unexpected bonus having them home again. We play a board game every night at dinner. I really never thought we would have this kind of family time again and we are enjoying it. And I have hope that they will find jobs eventually, even though it might take a while.

So the question is, how do we help those who are in the leaky rowboat, on the verge of sinking. It might be difficult, but we have to look at how we can make life fairer for everyone. How do we throw a lifeline to those who are in danger? How to we patch up that boat and keep everybody safe?

One thing I support is a more even distribution of education funds. The way that education is funded by property taxes and the history of the discriminatory practice of redlining, the effects of which are still felt today, means that I live in one of the best funded school districts in the area. Meanwhile my neighbors who are just a few miles away have much fewer resources. I would support a unified school district or another solution even if it means my property value is not boosted by being in a certain school district.

I think it is also important to be willing to discuss the topics of white privilege and systemic racism. It can be very uncomfortable, but I have to admit that my experience is my own. I know that I cannot fully understand the experience of someone who has lived in very different circumstances than mine.

And we need to be willing to social distance and wear a mask for the sake of those who are at risk. The mask does not protect me, but it does protect my elderly neighbor from any germs I might be carrying.

These are difficult topics, and my own opinions on them. I also need to be willing to listen to others with an open mind and a loving heart.

Webelos Camp at Camp May, Beaumont Scout Reservation, July 2007

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Here is a throwback to when LC went to Webelos Camp at Camp May. Several years later he would spend his summers working on camp staff there.

This year, he and ZM were supposed to be working at Camp May again, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, camp was cancelled. LC was going to be aqua director and ZM was going to be field sports. But instead they are stuck home with me and The Husband and DS. Not quite what they planned, but we are enjoying our unexpected family time together.

Ready to go swimming at the pool! Several years later he would be a counselor at the pool
Ping! Ping! Ping! at the BB gun range. Last year LC was a Field Sports counselor.
Archery at Camp May
The whole group. They are all adults now. How the years fly by.
Going to the nature lodge.

And here are a few more photos:

Troop Court of Honor – July 2007

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Today’s throwback is to some photos I found from a Troop Court of Honor in July 2007. I noticed a few fun things here.

This is JD and DS. DS’s sash is practcally down at his ankles. I’m struck by how small he is in these pictures. But it looks like he is confidently acting as MC at the Court of Honor.
LC is quietly sitting on the floor, off to the side, but still paying attention to what is going on.
ZM managed to get himself up front and included in the action. The older boys were always nice to make him feel welcome.
The Husband always did a great job letting the youth lead the program and then thanking them.

And here are a few more photos from this Troop Court of Honor.

Is It a Limbo Snowman or a Disco Snowman?

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Since we’ve been having snow off and on this week, today’s throwback is to December 2010. The boys made this snowman in the front yard. It was great packing snow. But it was also warm enough that the snowman started to lean. We couldn’t decide if he was trying to do limbo or imitating John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever.

These are some of my favorite snow pictures of the boys. I remember they kept going out and patching him up to make him last longer. The weather stayed cold enough that he lasted several days.

Trip to the Top of the Gateway Arch at Night

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I finally went through my footage of our trip to the Gateway Arch from Thanksgiving and I put together some highlights in this video.

It was a somewhat rainy day, but we still had some amazing views of downtown St. Louis from the top. This is the first time I have been up in the Arch at night and it did not disappoint.

We pre-purchased our tickets online. When we arrived, we went through the security checkpoint pretty quickly. So then we had time to tour the museum. Since the Gateway Arch is a memorial for St. Louis’ role as the “Gateway to the West”, a lot of the museum is about the westward expansion. There are some really nice dioramas of the Mississippi riverfront as it appeared in the past. There are also a lot of displays about the people who were heading west from St. Louis to start new lives on the frontier and the types of things they took with them. There is also a significant section dedicated to Native Americans and how the drive west impacted them and how they were forced to migrate to reservations.

When it was time to board, we waiting in line for our boarding passes. Since there are six in the family and only five seats per tram, we had to split up. The Husband and I went in one tram (which we shared with a very nice young couple), and the boys went in another. While waiting to proceed to the tram loading area, there was a movie to watch with lots of cultural references from 1965, the year the Gateway Arch was built. At the tram loading area, there were more video presentations about the building of the arch which we watched while we waited for the trams to arrive.

Once the trams came and the people who had ridden them down stepped out, we were able to board. The trams are very small and not for the claustrophobic. You can see this in the video. My favorite part of the tram ride is seeing what is inside the legs of the arch. There are stairs and workbenches and all sorts of mechanical stuff. It is really fascinating to me.

Once at the top, we waited our turn for an open window. First we were able to view out of the east side, seeing the Mississippi River and Illinois. Then we viewed the west side and saw downtown St. Louis. The view was spectacular! The video doesn’t really do it justice, but you will get the idea.

When we were ready to leave, we asked for boarding passes for the trip down. We didn’t have to wait long for a tram and took the ride back down, which is slightly faster because of gravity. 🙂

We toured some parts of the museum we didn’t have time to see before our tram ride. Then we left and went back out into the rain. It was a very fun family adventure.