By Labor Day weekend. The last gasp of summer. Brett and Claire hosted a barbecue at their new apartment, and the North End courtyard was strung with lights and filled with the smell of burgers and the sound of people who are happy in the simple way that people are happy at the end of summer: tired, sun-worn, grateful for cold beer and warm evenings and the knowledge that the best season is coming.
I brought Mom's potato salad — the no-mayo one, Grandma Ruth's recipe — and a watermelon that Mason picked out at the farmers market based on criteria that only made sense to him ("this one sounds right when you knock on it"). Claire made a berry tart that was frankly gorgeous — lattice crust, four kinds of berries — and when I told her it was beautiful she said, "Brett made the lattice," and I looked at my brother in his wheelchair piping lattice crust and thought: we are all becoming people we didn't expect to be. Claire is making Brett a baker. Cancer made me a gardener. Divorce is making me a griller. We evolve in directions we didn't plan.
Mason and Lily played in the courtyard with the neighborhood kids — a mixed-age pack that absorbed them instantly, the way kids absorb other kids, without introductions or applications, just: you're here, you're small, let's run. Mason emerged from the pack periodically to report on bug findings. Lily emerged to demand more watermelon. Hank lay on the grass and accepted petting from strangers with the graciousness of a three-legged ambassador.
Lily starts preschool next week. She talked about it to every adult at the barbecue, providing each with a comprehensive overview of her preparedness: she has a backpack (pink, horses), she knows her letters (most of them), she can count to twenty (with help after thirteen), and she is "totally ready." The word "totally" is new. It is her current adverb of choice. She is totally hungry. She is totally awake. She is totally going to preschool. I am totally exhausted by the word "totally."
I came home from the barbecue and put the kids to bed and sat on the back porch with Hank and thought about the year that's ending. Not the calendar year — the Heather year. One year ago, I was about to be diagnosed. I was standing in this same yard, in this same late-August light, and I didn't know. I didn't know about the mammogram, the biopsy, the kitchen floor, the red devil, the bell, the curly hair, the divorce, the garden, the first tomato. I didn't know any of it. And now I know all of it, and I am different, and different is not the same as worse. Different is just — different. The light has changed shape. And I am still here, watching it.
Lily must have asked for more watermelon four or five times that evening, and honestly, she wasn’t the only one. There’s something about the end of summer that makes you want to hold onto every sweet, cold bite you can get. This creamy watermelon dip is the kind of thing I’ll bring to every last-gasp-of-summer gathering from now on — it takes almost no effort, kids devour it, and it feels like eating the season itself before the light changes shape for good.
Easy Creamy Watermelon Dip
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 10 minutes | Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 4 cups seedless watermelon, cut into small cubes
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup whipped topping (such as Cool Whip), thawed
- 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
- Fresh mint leaves, for garnish
- Graham crackers, vanilla wafers, or fresh fruit for dipping
Instructions
- Prep the watermelon. Pat the watermelon cubes dry with paper towels to remove excess moisture. Set aside about 1/2 cup of cubes for topping.
- Make the base. In a large bowl, beat the softened cream cheese and powdered sugar together with an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add flavor. Mix in the vanilla extract and lime juice until combined.
- Fold in whipped topping. Gently fold the whipped topping into the cream cheese mixture using a spatula until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Add watermelon. Fold in the remaining watermelon cubes gently, keeping some texture.
- Chill and serve. Transfer to a serving bowl and top with reserved watermelon cubes and fresh mint leaves. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes before serving. Serve with graham crackers, vanilla wafers, or fresh fruit.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 175 | Protein: 2g | Fat: 10g | Carbs: 20g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 95mg