By Tommy is four months old and he laughed for the first time. Not a smile — he's been smiling for weeks. A laugh. A real, full-body, baby laugh that sounded like a hiccup mixed with joy and came out while I was making faces at him during a diaper change. I was doing the thing where you pretend the diaper is a hat (don't judge me, all parents do weird things when they're alone with a baby) and he laughed. A sound I'd never heard before. A sound that didn't exist in the world until this moment. A sound made by a person I made. I have never been so proud of a sound.
I called Megan at school to tell her. She said, "Record it!" I said, "I'm covered in diaper cream!" She said, "I don't care, record the laugh!" I didn't record it. The moment was private — between a father and a son in a nursery on a Tuesday morning. The next laugh, I'll record. This one was just for us.
At the brewery, the spring lineup is being finalized. I'm pushing for a new sour series — seasonal releases, four per year, each one highlighting a different Wisconsin fruit. Spring: rhubarb. Summer: cherry. Fall: apple. Winter: cranberry. The head brewer said, "That's ambitious." I said, "I have a baby. Ambition is the only thing keeping me awake." He approved the series.
Made a simple roast chicken for Sunday dinner. Tom and Linda came. Tom held Tommy the entire time, one-handed eating, refusing to give the baby up. Tommy fell asleep on Tom's chest. Tom fell asleep on the couch with Tommy on his chest. Linda took a photo. Megan took a photo. I took a photo. We now have eleven photos of Tom asleep with Tommy. The collection grows.
Megan and Jake married in June 2024. The small newlywed-rhythm is in its small second year. The small two-bedroom rental on the small east-side of Milwaukee continues to be the small first-home. The small thirty-year-mortgage-eventually-someday is the small five-year-goal. The small marriage is the small foundation the small life is being built on.
The small Polish-American heritage is the small kitchen-identity. The small pierogi-recipe-cards from Babcia Helen (Jake’s grandmother who passed in 2018, who had lived two blocks from the small Bay-View family-house) is the small monthly-Saturday-tradition. The small kielbasa-and-sauerkraut. The small bigos. The small recipes that came over from the small Krakow-region in the small 1910s.
The small Milwaukee-winter is the small six-month-condition. The small cold-weather-comfort-food rotation runs October through April. The small soups, the small stews, the small braises, the small heavy-baked-goods. The small Midwestern-comfort-vocabulary is the small kitchen-language.
Megan and Jake married in June 2024. The small newlywed-rhythm is in its small second year. The small two-bedroom rental on the small east-side of Milwaukee continues to be the small first-home. The small thirty-year-mortgage-eventually-someday is the small five-year-goal. The small marriage is the small foundation the small life is being built on.
The small Lakefront Brewery shift-work continues to be the small steady-paycheck. The small forty-hour-week brewery-floor job pays the small twenty-two-an-hour rate that the small Milwaukee-blue-collar-economy supports. The small benefits are the small union-decent. The small ten-year-tenure-target is the small career-anchor.
The small Polish-American heritage is the small kitchen-identity. The small pierogi-recipe-cards from Babcia Helen (Jake’s grandmother who passed in 2018, who had lived two blocks from the small Bay-View family-house) is the small monthly-Saturday-tradition. The small kielbasa-and-sauerkraut. The small bigos. The small recipes that came over from the small Krakow-region in the small 1910s.
Megan is from a small Irish-Catholic Milwaukee-suburban family. The small Sunday-dinners at her small parents’ house rotate with the small Sunday-dinners at Jake’s parents’ house. The small in-laws on both sides have been the small welcoming-presence. The small two-family-network is the small extended-support the small newlywed-life rests on.
The small Milwaukee-winter is the small six-month-condition. The small cold-weather-comfort-food rotation runs October through April. The small soups, the small stews, the small braises, the small heavy-baked-goods. The small Midwestern-comfort-vocabulary is the small kitchen-language.
The small future-kid-conversations have begun. Megan teaches small fourth-grade at a small public school in Wauwatosa. The small adoption-vs-biological conversation is in the small early-discussion stage. The small five-year-plan includes the small kid-or-kids in some form. The small kitchen is the small place where the small future is being practiced.
That Sunday — the one where Tom ate one-handed so he wouldn’t have to put Tommy down, the one that gave us eleven photos of a grandfather asleep on the couch with a baby on his chest — deserved a dessert that was easy enough that I actually made it, and bright enough to match the mood. The roast chicken does the heavy lifting; the lemon pie is the quiet finish. It’s the kind of thing you can pull together while the baby is sleeping on his grandfather, while your wife is taking photos, while the house is exactly as full as it should be.
Lemon Pie
Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 45 minutes + 2 hours chilling | Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 1 pre-baked 9-inch pie crust (store-bought or homemade)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3–4 lemons)
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 4 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Whipped cream or meringue, for topping
Instructions
- Make the filling. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Gradually stir in the water and lemon juice until smooth. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and begins to bubble, about 8–10 minutes.
- Temper the eggs. Remove the pan from heat. Slowly pour about 1/2 cup of the hot filling into the beaten egg yolks, whisking constantly to temper them. Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan and return to medium heat.
- Finish the curd. Stir constantly and cook for 2 more minutes until the filling is thick and glossy. Remove from heat and stir in the butter and lemon zest until the butter is fully melted and incorporated.
- Fill the crust. Pour the warm lemon filling into the pre-baked pie crust and smooth the top with a spatula.
- Chill. Allow the pie to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until fully set.
- Top and serve. Slice and serve cold with a generous dollop of whipped cream or a crown of toasted meringue.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 290 | Protein: 3g | Fat: 11g | Carbs: 46g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 180mg