My Mothers Legacy

So I was started dinner tonight, and it was a fun experience. I recently spoke to my sister in law, the amazing Lori Poo, who encouraged me to try new things in the kitchen (you know, I just thought of a very different way that that sentence could have gone...) and experiment because really, this is the only way you learn. And she's right. So now today for the first time I tried something VERY new.

When my Husband and I got back from our honeymoon, his mom (that wonderful woman) brought us groceries. I can't tell you how much I appreciated that. Here I was with my new husband and I have nothing to cook for him. As a young wife, this was sending me into pseudo-panic attacks. If you're anything like me, all you ever wanted was to be able to cook dinner for your husband, and I couldn't. All I could think was, Great, what an awesome wife I'm turning out to be. And here comes with lovely woman with a basket full of groceries for me. However, there was some stuff I didn't quite know about. Like the stuff above, what in the worlds is this I thought!?

Tonight I used it in a recipe. I made some chicken, made some Quinoa, sauteed some onion and garlic, threw in some chicken broth and spices and BOOM dinner is served, right?

If only things were so easy. I'm learning that cooking makes messes, and while I was prancing around my kitchen cooking tonight, all I could think was, I get it Mommy. I get why you told me to wash dishes while I worked, why you hated making dinner, and more importantly why you hated letting me cook in your kitchen. I just get it. My Quinoa was simmering and my chicken was ready to be added, so I took a second to do the dishes in the sink.

I think that Moms know things. I can see now, how, my whole life was a learning experience and my Mommy tried so desperately to teach me things. Like to pick up my clothes, to not leave wet towels on the floor, to make my bed, not to leave dishes in other rooms, and to clean your dishes as you cook. Now that I'm in my own house making my own rules I'm finding out that a lot of them are the rules that my Mommy made.

Dinner, in the end, was good, and it looked something like this,

It wasn't my very favorite, but it was edible, and my husband liked it, so really, that's all that matters right?

I think, more than cooking, I just liked being in my kitchen thinking about my Mommy and all the useful things that she taught me. I don't have anything to clean in my kitchen right now, which is why I can write this post. And if silly things like that stick in my mind, then I know, no matter what, I will never forget my Mommy and the things that she taught me. Even if I spent most of my life arguing with her and fighting her and being mean to her. Seriously folks, there was a good chunk of time my Mom did NOT like me, she'll tell you so herself.

But when I think about the way I run my own kitchen, I will always think of her. And I know this would make her happy, because this is the legacy that she left me; a good heart, a happy home, and a clean kitchen.