Armed with a radio and her lotion she would crawl out the upstairs bedroom window to sunbathe on the roof. She kept her easel behind the kitchen table so she could paint while she watched us play on the living room floor. She made friends with every cashier and bank teller and never forgot a birthday. She taught us to be pleasant, not just polite, and that kindness would take us far in life.

She would sometimes make a bean soup that I hated. I would complain and pout and refuse to eat it until it had congealed into a cold paste, but my mother stood her ground and made me eat at least three spoons before I could leave the table. She told me if I had just eaten it when it was still hot, I would have loved it, and she was right.

As an adult, I suddenly craved her bean soup and made it — as best as I could remember — and did indeed enjoy it. The first delicious bite of hot bean soup brought tears to my eyes… if only I would have listened to her, I could have spared us the battle at the table, and might have spared her feelings, too.

The older I get, the more often I lament my stubborn, childish refusal to take her advice.

She loved making breakfast and made healthy, balanced dinners for us every night, but lunch was always a chore she would rather skip. To make it easy for her, she would sometimes make a large batch of chicken salad to eat with celery sticks or pretzels throughout the week.

This classic salad is bright and tangy, perfect for enjoying on a beach towel on the roof. I used some rotisserie chicken to make mine, but canned chicken is even faster and works just as well.

Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked chicken, finely chopped

2 stalks celery, finely chopped

¼ cup minced red onion

1/3 cup finely chopped raw cashews

1/3 cup mayonnaise (more or less to taste)

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

½ teaspoon celery salt

2 teaspoons honey

Black pepper to taste (the more the better)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir until well mixed.

Taste and season with extra salt and pepper or vinegar. I like mine loaded with black pepper.

Serve as a sandwich, wrap, or on top of a bed of salad greens for a healthy and convenient lunch.

Everyone who met her loved her. She was talented and blessed in many ways, but she fought a terrible enemy for as long as I knew her, and it slowly, painfully, took her life. If I had only listened to her warnings, it might not have almost taken mine, too. At 41 years old, she lost her battle with alcohol, but nobody else has to. If you are losing your war with addiction, you are not alone, and I urge you to seek treatment before its too late. Reach out to your local AA group or call one of the numbers below to start the journey toward your bright future.

It has now been 17 years without her.

Serenity House Treatment Center: 245 N Binkley St., Soldotna, 907-714-4521

Ideal Option Addiction Treatment Center: 416 Frontage Road #200, Kenai, 866-615-4186