Last night I peeled a few potatoes to go along with dinner. Along with making salads, this is one of my least favorite kitchen tasks. At least until last November, when I cooked Thanksgiving dinner with a good friend of mine. As we were peeling potatoes, she started to talk about her father, who passed away a few years ago from cancer. She was very close to him and the pain of that loss is still quite tangible. She recounted how her dad was an amazing potato peeler, super fast and efficient at this seemingly random task. I learned that he had honed his potato peeling skills in the military, where he regularly rotated through that duty. Peeling potatoes always reminds her of her father, this good man that she misses so dearly. And now peeling potatoes reminds me of my friend and that moment we had together reminiscing about someone so dear to her.
Smells, tastes, sounds…they all can elicit powerful memories. Last night as I was peeling away at my potatoes, I was thinking how the act of preparing food can cause the same flood of memory. Nate’s Gram Maynard was an angel who we all loved more than I can describe. The night I heard the news that she had succumbed to a very quick and painful bout of pancreatic cancer, I was in the process of making dinner. I hung up the phone and cried my way through chopping tomatoes. The song I Just Don’t Think I’ll Ever Get Over You by Colin Hay was playing while I chopped, which further fed the sadness I was feeling. To this day, every time my knife breaks through the skin of a tomato, the emotion of that night overcomes me. Sometimes I cry, but most often chopping tomatoes simply causes me to take a moment to remember this great woman I was blessed to have in my life.
The act of cooking and preparing food is oftentimes an act of love. We are nourishing ourselves and those close to us in the most basic and necessary way possible. It comes as no surprise to me that the act of making food can be so strongly associated with certain memories. I am grateful for these moments that force me to ponder the people I love, to think about why I love them, why I am grateful they are in my life and, in some cases, why I miss them so much.
I’ve been feeling very subdued and thoughtful the last few weeks. Good friends of ours just suffered a tragic loss in their family – a young, vibrant, wonderful 19-year old boy who had everything to offer the world who fell victim to the debilitating effects of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and took his own life. My heart has broken for him, for his amazing parents and for his family members. And I have been feeling an overwhelming sense of gratitude for every moment I have with my own children and husband. I am hugging them more and playing more Go Fish {and trying not to cry at the drop of a hat}. Life is too short, I need to embrace every moment I am blessed with.
As you prepare your food, let it be an act of love rather than a simple, mundane task. Let the act of cooking remind of you a time gone by. And while you’re at it, hug your loved ones extra hard tonight.
Hello! My name is Jane Maynard and you've landed yourself on my blog, This Week for Dinner™. Every Sunday I share a weekly menu...and then count on you to share your own! You'll also find other deliciousness that I hope you'll enjoy!
