Cooking for my Mother- an Impossible Task

A few weeks ago my father texted me. It went something like this:

Dad: "Mom refuses to go out for brunch on Mother's Day. Says we should just eat here."
Me: "Yah. She likes the taste of her cooking. And she wants to wear yoga pants."
Dad: "OK. So we'll do the cooking."
Me: "She's not going to let that happen. But yes."

My mom is always ready for lunch
The kitchen is my mother's domain. I have vivid memories of her snapping at me to get out of her kitchen. Even though it's a nice size, we get underfoot real fast. So we all knew that keeping her out of the kitchen on Mother's Day would be a challenge.

We made it work. Mom insisted she at least be in charge of the waffles. I did eggs, bacon, and sausage and my brother and father oversaw bagels and mimosas.
Anyway, it was a lovely day. We all took naps to help sort out our food comas and then Mom joined Penny and Mike and me for a little jaunt around the neighborhood when it finally stopped raining.

Guys, I'm going to get weird here for a second. Stay with me.

I'm a bossy you know what. I read a lot. I watch a lot of instructional TV (if I needed to, I'm pretty sure I could install a tile backsplash, I've watched so many DIY shows). I have a pretty diverse group of friends who teach me a lot. So I have a tendency to think that I know all the things. About everything.

Enter my mom. She has a lot of stuff. Their basement is home to old prom gowns, a lot of fake flower arrangments, wrapping paper, bikes, tools, furniture, all of it. You name it, it's in the basement. And I constantly give my mom a hard time about it because I am an ever increasing minimalist who hates clutter. An old boyfriend frequently jokes that if Penny sat still long enough, I'd likely throw her away in a decluttering frenzy.

"Get rid of it," I encourage my mom. "It'll feel so freeing once it's all gone." (This is me being a know-it-all having skimmed The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.)

Mom knows this. But the woman is a busy lady. I've told you before she never sits down. We watched a movie last night and she stayed awake for the whole thing. Dad and I were so proud.

So the basement clutter continues to accumulate and my dad and I mutter about how we need another basement flood to force us to all clean that sucker out.

But this weekend I was at home, complaining to my mother about how I needed new knives. I was having a hard time justifying buying them because money is tight. What does my mother do? She clomps on down to the basement and emerges a few minutes later with a full set of fancy knives. Without a word she handed them over to me, explaining that she has her new and improved knives and I can have these. No questions asked.

Moms, am I right?

We think we know everything there is to know about everything. Until they surprise us with their wisdom and save our butts.

I love you, Mom. Thanks for loving me through it all.
Happy Mother's Day, Prissy!!

Comments

Popular Posts