My child showed up yesterday morning with groceries. He had told me earlier in the week that we were not having our usual Sunday lunch at a Mexican restaurant since it was Mother’s Day. I had tried to ask questions to figure out where we might be going instead, but all I found out was that we would not be riding a mechanical bull. So on Sunday morning when Jon showed up with bags from the grocery store I knew we were staying in and that he was not in a good mood. Evidently the trip to the grocery store was harder than he expected. With his recipe on his phone, he spent a long time trying to find unfamiliar ingredients in a store that was more crowded than he expected on a Sunday morning. To add to his frustration he was hot. He decided to wear a dress shirt and sport coat to honor me, but it was the hottest day of the year so far, so he was miserable. When he plopped the groceries on the counter I thought this was probably a bad idea, we should just do our standard Mexican fare.
During the sermon at church, the preacher mentioned how Mother’s Day should include a meal that mom doesn’t have to cook or clean up after. I moaned a little to myself, remembering the groceries waiting at home, knowing that this was probably not going to be the case at our house. When the minister also mentioned first holidays without moms for some people, I softened a little, knowing how fortunate I was to be there with my guys. I could look over and see one of the children of a friend who had passed away. And the man beside me, my husband, was also feeling the loss of his mother only 3 short months ago. So I decided I would stay quiet and see where this crazy plan took us.
As soon as we got home, I changed into my sweats and went to the kitchen. There my son stood, looking rather lost. He had lots of food items that I wasn’t sure were supposed to go together. I asked what he was trying to make. He and I often ordered tomato bisque and “grown up” grilled cheese sandwiches at a local restaurant and he wanted to duplicate that for me. But he wasn’t sure where to start. Together we read through the recipe on his phone and I began to show him how to chop an onion. Don’t get me wrong, he has lived on his own for years. But he doesn’t cook a whole lot. And when he does, it is as simple as possible. I have told him that if he would try, he might enjoy cooking. That is a hard sell while you are cutting onions! “I knew people talked about crying while cutting onions, but I had no idea!” he exclaimed.
We cooked and talked, I taught and we laughed. When the recipe called for an immersion blender, I decided to dig mine out. The two times I had tried to use it before had been unsuccessful, but I hoped that this time I would have learned from my past mistakes and that we would succeed together. We did! I now have a new (old) favorite gadget. When we were missing ingredients he hadn’t found at the store, you know scarce things like cream or chicken broth, I either had them or something we could use in their place. I taught him about improvising and making it your own. (No, not a song or a part in a play, but a meal.) We talked about healthy alternatives for some things and how you can make a lot of meals out of one big thing you can cook on Sunday and then divide up for the week. We laughed at our mistakes and remembered other times together in the kitchen.
We set the table including the beautiful roses and calla lilies he had sent me the day before, and then the three of us sat down together for a really good bowl of hot tomato bisque and a “grown up” gourmet cheese sandwich.
Later, last night after I was in bed, I thought about the day. I thought about our time together in the kitchen, the things we had both learned, the time we shared and the fun we had had. I thought about the meal we had eaten together and the memories we had made. And I realized it was one of the best days I have ever had. One of those days that you will remember for as long as you live. One of those days you think back on from time to time, thinking about how fortunate you are. One of those days that remind you how lucky you are to be a mom. And one of those days that lets you know that no matter how rotten a job you think you did as a mom, you somehow ended up with the very best kid!
I love this!!