Chris's question and Creole/Cajun Red Beans and Rice

RED BEANS AND RICE IN THE INSTAPOT ...... 3 tablespoons canola oil, or any other neutral oil...... 1 pound Andouille sausage, sliced..... 1 cup chicken stock..... 1 small yellow onion, sliced.... 2 cloves of garlic, minced..... 1 green bell pepper, chopped..... 2 stalks celery, diced..... 1 pound dried red kidney beans..... 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning..... 3 dried bay leaves..... 1 bunch green onions, sliced... 2 cups long-grained white rice..... Step 1 Turn your Instant Pot to the sauté function. Add one tablespoon of the neutral oil and the sliced sausage to the bottom of the pot. Sauté until the sausage is browned on both sides, about seven minutes...... Step 2 Add the other two tablespoons of oil along with the onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic. Cook until the onions are soft and just getting brown around the edges. Add in the chicken stock and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pot...... Step 3 Add the red beans, Cajun seasoning, a few grinds of black pepper, and the bay leaves. Add five cups of water to the mixture. Turn sauté mode off. Seal the lid and set the Instant Pot to high pressure for 40 minutes. ..... Step 4 While the red beans cook, cook the rice...... Step 5 When the beans are done, allow the pressure to naturally release. Season the beans with salt, pepper, more Cajun seasoning, and hot sauce, to taste. Using a wooden spoon or potato masher, smash the beans to your desired consistency. They may look soupy, but they will thicken as they sit. Serve over hot rice with a sprinkling of green onions and more hot sauce as desired. .....>>>>>>> Many years ago, Hubster and i went on vacation with two other couples, Sara & Christian and Kristi & Chris. I was pregnant and Sara was hoping to be pregnant in the next year. Kristi had informed Chris that they would not ever, ever, no, not ever, be having kids. They had met in high school and had always been together so this was something that they had known for years before this vacation. Chris asked me, and Sara, why we wanted to have kids. It is easy to come up with a myriad of reasons to _not_ have children (many of which Kristi was happily providiing) but he was curious as to why we wanted to have children. Sara, who had been adopted along with her sister and brother, wanted to carry on her line. Wanted to give her mom grandchildren. As i was already "commited" to having children (in the process!), i was the surer answer for Chris. I could at the time and even more so now, come up with sosososo many reasons to not have children.And the current world situatoin is even more of a deterant. But...i just have always known that i wanted to have kids. I can only speak for me but i know that i didn't fully grow up until i had kids. I got to experience a second childhood with my children. I got to meet these really cool new people that changed every day,to experience the world in a new way because of how they see things. I had another opportunity to do all the fun things that a childhood can have--DisneyWorld, yes, but also coloring..and Power Rangers...and princess dress-up...and archery/TaeKwonDo/piano (ok, piano wasn't a walk in the park...)...and playgrounds...and dancing and singing in the parking lot of our apartments...and ice cream cakes... I got to be a kid again and go through all the fun of that with these cool kids. And i could watch my favorite guy play and interact with them too. I could fall in love with him all over again watching him with his son...and his daughter...and how they all got along (to varying degrees from day to day...). I cannot imagine my life had i not had children. That said....it has been...and still is...the hardest, most painful thing, that i've ever done. They are a piece of my heart and when they had sadness, i was sad too. When they did things that i knew were bad for them (both to varying degrees and at different times), i had such a difficult time trying to "fix" the situation, often this was impossible. It is easy to lift an 15 month away from a fireplace...much harder to deal with a 15 year old that has run away from home. It's easy to sooth an 18 month old that is sad that her favorite movie character is hurt falling from a tree...much harder to deal the an 18 year old who leaves college to be with her favorite person who they miss. It is easy to "scrunch" a cute elementary school kid when they come home from a long day at school and both of you need a hug. It is harder to do so when said "child" is on the other side of a telephone call...or text....and busy with their own life. I've been a parent for nearly 30 years..and my heart literally hurts with the missing of my "little kids". They are great adults now, don't get me wrong. And i gladly "suffer" the pain of missing them for the memories of all the fun that i had being their "maman". And now my "baby" has a baby of his own. The cycle continues. I hope that he enjoys it as much as i did (do!!).