Minutes with a Marvel: Diane Benz
Minutes with a Marvel: Diane Benz
Originally written August 2019.
The Original.
Today, my mom turned the big 7-0. In-between her five-mile round-trip walk to the gym for back-to-back exercise classes and her Sunday evening routine, I swung by to deliver the only gift I know to be a home run: food. Though I have pages of notes and recipes from my mom for a longer feature—as she is the muse for this project—I thought I’d share a few tidbits on this special day.
My mom is the most self-deprecating person on the planet. She wakes up at 4:30 every weekday, just to maximize the hours on the clock. Before you’ve hit snooze on your alarm, she’s likely whipped up a baked good for a neighbor or perhaps even prepared an entire catered lunch for a local senior’s group.
She taught my three siblings and me the importance of home cooking, gathering around the table together, and sharing life alongside nutritious meals. If you know my mom, chances are she’s probably fed you. My husband likes to say if you open her fridge or pantry you won’t find snacks, but in fifteen minutes, she’ll have whipped up a three-course meal for you.
Food most certainly is medicine in her book and is her love language. And while I was rattling off my “Minutes with a Marvel” questions to her, my mom ran to get an obituary out of the recycling bin because she said the author brought her to tears for perfectly capturing her dreams as a mother. (I can say without a doubt our mom is the kind of mom this writer describes.)
Q&A with DB
Where do you get your energy/what motivates you?
“My kids, especially you [me, Kate!] because you’re always saying, ‘You’re not old!’”
Who (other women) inspires you?
“Mother Teresa.”
Dream or ambition?
“It used to be, ‘Have all of my kids graduate college,’ but that dream came true. I have dreams to see my grandkids grow up and watch my children handle that—to be the kind of parents who inspire their children to be successful in whatever they desire.”
Go-to recipe?
“Depends what I have on-hand.”
