Second of two parts

By Glenn Dromgoole

These Food Elegies – not food allergies – are nostalgic tributes to the importance of food and family. Maybe as you peruse these short “elegies,” you will be encouraged to jot down a few of your own.

Dinner with the Family
Nearly every night back then
we sat down together
as a family for dinner –
except we called it supper –
and Daddy offered the blessing,
and maybe we thought to thank
Mom for her hard work,
which made it all possible.

TV Dinners
They came frozen and weren’t really all that good,
but the very idea that we could eat on a tray
while watching “Gunsmoke” or “Have Gun Will Travel”
or Elvis on “The Ed Sullivan Show”
certainly appealed to all of the family —
except for Mom, who was not a fan.

Breakfast, Then What?
We ate breakfast, dinner, and supper — 
not breakfast, lunch, and dinner —
though I suppose it doesn’t matter
what you called it; Mom cooked it,
we ate it, and it was all delicious.

Doing the Dishes
Before we got a dishwasher,
we would fight over whose turn it was
to wash the dishes – and dry them.
Then we got this machine that was supposed to do it all —
but it didn’t, did it?
There were still pots and pans –
so we fought over that instead.

A Rare Treat
If we went out for dinner –
after church, maybe, or on a Friday night –
it was a rare treat, and we dressed up
in our newest jeans and cleanest shirt
and tried to behave like the nice children
our parents wished we were.

Clipping Recipes
Mom loved to clip recipes out of magazines,
but she rarely got a chance to try any of them
because we wanted her to cook our favorites –
and she didn’t even need a recipe for them.
Later, we would realize we were being selfish,
but by then we were gone from home – and so was she.

A Slice of Watermelon
On a hot summer day
it was a special treat when Daddy
pulled out the kitchen knife
and sliced up the watermelon
which had been cooling in the ice box –
and we competed to see
how far we could spit the seeds.

Homemade Ice Cream
Daddy let us turn the crank
on the ice cream freezer
until we couldn’t turn it anymore
which meant it was time to enjoy
the fruits of our labor.

Thanksgiving Morning
Ah, at Mammaw’s house we woke up
to the aroma of turkey and dressing –
and we just couldn’t wait to taste it,
but instead we were treated to breakfast –
eggs, sausage, biscuits, gravy –
and were sent out to play while the adults
labored lovingly over the potato salad,
cream peas, sweet potatoes, ambrosia,
and protected the various pies and cakes
from inquisitive young intruders.

The Kids Table
When the extended family got together
for Thanksgiving, or maybe Christmas,
the adults sat at the big table
while we kids had a card table or two —
and then, before you know it, 
we weren’t kids anymore, 
and we got the big table –
and fondly remembered those
who had sat there before.

The Recipes She Left Behind
We have books and scrapbooks
and scraps of scribbled recipes
that tell us the ingredients
and the cooking instructions –
but what they don’t include
are her little secret twists
that made all the difference.

Family Favorite
What is your favorite dish 
your mom would cook –
and how much would you give
to have her cook that for you 
once again?

Glenn Dromgoole is a regular contributor to Spirit of Abilene and is the author of 35 books, including A Few Encouraging Words.