What foods come to mind when I think of my childhood? Biscuits and honey, mashed potatoes, salsa and chips on Sunday afternoons, and lots and lots of cookies. I remember my teeth getting dyed black from the frosting on a soccer ball cake. I remember using the broth from black-eyed peas as gravy for potatoes even though I refused to touch the peas themselves. I even remember that the jalepeno kind made the best gravy.
Mom, you made us thousands of great meals over the years and fulfilled countless orders. Looking back, the atmosphere that you created with those meals was more important than the dishes themselves. There was a family dinner every night, no matter how busy you or the kids were. Those dinners left a deep impression on us all- you need not look farther for evidence than our bizarre family habit of hooking our elbows around the backrest of the chair when we're done eating.
There was a lunch packed for me every day up through my senior year of high school. I can't tell you how jealous all of my friends were that my mom still packed lunches for me. A sandwich, an apple, fruit snacks, and a drink were waiting for me every morning. My favorite cereal was always in the pantry, seemingly in an infinite supply. The milk was always in the fridge, just as infinite as the cereal. Only now do I really understand that those things run out, and fast.
Mom, your work keeping us all feed as what made our house a home. We always congregated around the food, most of the time devouring it in minutes. Remember when Tammy came to meet the family and brought a decorative box full of gummy snacks? She was shocked that we polished them all off in a matter of minutes. I remember how I used to eat the frosting off of cakes, Wendy would eat the crust, and Brad would eat the middle. I'm grateful for all of the work you did for us, I wish we had thanked you more at the time. Hopefully, this blog will help you see some of the influence you had on us.
Happy birthday!
Love,
John
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