By New Year's 2028. Eleven years sober. I am forty-eight years old. Sofia is a college sophomore. Diego is in his second NFL season. The twins are thirteen. Lisa is building something remarkable at her company. My father is in Las Cruces being tended by Clara and Marisol and my mother. The world is what it is and I'm choosing it every day.
I've been thinking about what comes after coaching. Not imminently — I'm forty-eight and in the best years of my career by any measure — but the way you think about chapters when you've lived enough of them to know they have endings. I started coaching at twenty-two and I've been a head coach since I was thirty. The work I do is significant and I intend to keep doing it well for a long time. But I've started asking myself what the life after coaching looks like. Not out of restlessness. Out of the kind of attention that lives in the present while acknowledging the whole of the story.
Black-eyed peas. Green chile. The twins eating. The table. Eleven years of choosing this. I will keep choosing this until I can't.
The black-eyed peas are tradition, but this black bean-mango salad has become something else entirely — the dish I make when I want to feel present without making a big production of it. There’s something about the brightness of the mango against the earthiness of the beans that matches how eleven years feels: not triumphant exactly, but vivid, grounded, and still surprising. I made this for the twins last New Year’s and watched them go back for seconds without looking up from their conversation, which is exactly the kind of ordinary moment I used to think I’d never get to keep.
Black Bean-Mango Salad
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 0 min | Total Time: 15 min | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 2 cans (15 oz each) black beans, rinsed and drained
- 2 ripe mangoes, peeled and diced (about 2 cups)
- 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
- 1/2 red onion, finely diced
- 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Combine the base. In a large bowl, add the rinsed black beans, diced mango, red bell pepper, and red onion. Toss gently to combine without breaking down the mango.
- Add the aromatics. Stir in the minced jalapeño and chopped cilantro, distributing evenly throughout the salad.
- Make the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice, olive oil, cumin, salt, and black pepper until emulsified.
- Dress and rest. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently to coat. Let the salad sit for at least 10 minutes before serving so the flavors can come together.
- Taste and adjust. Before serving, taste and adjust salt, lime, or heat to your preference. Serve at room temperature or chilled.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 220 | Protein: 9g | Fat: 5g | Carbs: 38g | Fiber: 10g | Sodium: 310mg