By May. Tyler and I had our first married disagreement that took more than one day to resolve. I am not going to write about what it was about because the content is not the point. The point is that we went a day and a half being careful with each other instead of easy and then on Tuesday night we talked about it at the kitchen table and it got resolved and after the resolution I made tea and we sat together and it was over.
Ida slept through the whole thing. She has no idea. She will grow up in a house where disagreements happen and get resolved and that is the only thing she needs to know about conflict. It happens and it ends. It does not define the space around it. I did not know that as a child. I know it now because I have spent years building it and because Tyler is the kind of person who wants to resolve things rather than win things. I said that to him on Tuesday. He said he knew. He said that was the whole point.
Peach season is close. I can feel it. The first peaches are at the farm stand now, the early ones, still a little firm. I bought two anyway and made a cobbler and it was the cobbler version of a great idea that is not quite ready yet. In two weeks it will be perfect. Some things require the exact right timing and nothing you do can rush it.
The small Bright Beginnings Daycare in the small downtown Prattville is the small workplace. The small toddler-room teacher role (ages 18-36 months). The small daycare-worker-salary plus the small fiancé-Cole’s small carpenter-paycheck is the small two-income engaged-couple budget. The small wedding-saving has been the small two-year-project.
Tyler Clarke (the small fiancé, 29, diesel-mechanic-from-Millbrook) works at a small trucking-company. The small wedding is planned for October 2026 with Gloria walking Savannah down the aisle. The small marriage will be the small first-stable-adult-relationship Savannah has had. The small foster-care upbringing means the small family-of-origin had been the small unstable-shape.
The small foster-care-history: Savannah went into the small Alabama-foster-care system at age six after the small mother’s incarceration and the small father’s absence. The small seven-foster-placements between infancy and age sixteen. The small last placement (Gloria and James Martin in Prattville, who became the small forever-parents) since age fourteen. The small Martin-foster-parents continued to be the small only-parents until James died in 2024 at 77 from a heart-attack mowing the lawn.
The small self-taught-Southern-cooking is the small kitchen-identity. The small no-grandmother-recipes-passed-down meant the small YouTube-and-cookbook-self-teaching from age sixteen onward. The small fried chicken, the small biscuits, the small mac-and-cheese, the small banana pudding, the small sweet tea are the small staples.
The small Gloria-Martin kitchen-mentorship (Gloria is the small foster-mom-now-mom) has been the small adult-cooking-development since the small fourteen-year-old. The small Gloria-Sunday-dinners-with-Savannah-cooking-now are the small weekly-rhythm since James passed. The small Gloria-recipes (Black-Southern-comfort-food the small chain of Gloria’s mother and grandmother) are the small heritage-by-adoption.
The small Prattville-small-town-community is the small social-context. The small First Baptist Church congregation is the small church-family. The small daycare-coworkers are the small adjacent-friend-network. The small Martin-family (Gloria, James who passed in 2024, plus the small current-foster-child Destiny age 6 in Gloria’s care) is the small chosen-family. The small Tyler’s-family-in-Millbrook (Debbie, Roy, and four-brothers) is the small in-law-family.
The cobbler I made with those early peaches was fine — it was fine the way Tuesday night was fine before we sat down and actually talked. But the next morning, with the disagreement behind us and Ida still asleep and something light called for, I went back to the fruit. Not a cobbler this time. Just what I had, blended together, sweet and cold and easy. That’s what a good fruit smoothie is, really — a way of using what’s in front of you and not overthinking it. Some mornings that’s exactly enough.
Sweet Fruit Smoothies
Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 5 minutes | Servings: 2
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh or frozen peaches, sliced (or substitute strawberries, mango, or mixed fruit)
- 1 ripe banana, peeled and broken into chunks
- 3/4 cup orange juice or apple juice, chilled
- 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
- 1 tablespoon honey, or to taste
- 1/2 cup ice cubes
Instructions
- Prep the fruit. If using fresh peaches, peel and slice them. If using frozen fruit, no thawing needed — frozen fruit gives the smoothie a thicker, colder texture.
- Load the blender. Add the fruit, banana, juice, yogurt, honey, and ice to a blender in that order. Putting the liquid in first helps the blades pull everything down smoothly.
- Blend. Process on high speed for 45–60 seconds, until completely smooth with no visible chunks. Scrape down the sides once if needed and blend another 15 seconds.
- Taste and adjust. Sample before pouring. Add more honey for sweetness or a splash more juice to thin it out if it’s too thick. Blend briefly to incorporate.
- Serve immediately. Pour into two glasses and drink right away. Smoothies separate as they sit, so don’t let them wait — this one doesn’t require patience.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 185 | Protein: 4g | Fat: 1g | Carbs: 42g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 40mg