Wednesday, March 08, 2006

Missed

"If I wanted to hard boil a couple eggs, Mom, what would I do?" Now, if she had asked about soft boiled eggs (which I rarely make) I could understand her questioning, but we eat hard boiled eggs. A lot. And she has been chief Easter Bunny for several years...I guess I always cooked the eggs. Hmmm.

"You would take a sauce pan. Place two eggs in it, cover the eggs with water, bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes."

"If I wanted to boil 4 eggs, would I simmer for 40 minutes? And if I boiled 12 eggs, would I simmer 120 minutes? Why not?"

Take it on faith--you only need to simmer for 20 minutes, no matter how many eggs you boil at one time. I thought we were out of the woods 'til the timer went off..."Now what do I do?"

"Take them off the stove and put them in cold water." I thought that was axiomatic. Apparantly I was mistaken.

Where did I go wrong? And this daughter cooks! Maybe, just maybe, my Mom thought I'd learned more before I was on my own than I really did? Perhaps she had tried to teach me...and I neglected to hear? Golly, I wonder what all I missed...

I knew how to cook Italian from following my Grandmother around when she lived with us. Otherwise, my chores were generally outdoor chores. (Anybody need to plant some iceplant? How about care for citris trees? Care for, even train dogs? Clean a pool? Not a one have I needed as an adult.)

I didn't learn how to cook. I didn't learn how to sew. I barely learned anything about how to clean--I knew to dust and vacuum, but that was all.

What else did I miss?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

You know, it seems to me like you have done a wonderful job as a mom with or with out all the training. :) My mom taught me a lot of that stuff and I am still trying to figure out what to do! heh. :)

Steve and Judy remembered you guys and were excited that we had "met" you. I was home with Jacob, but Paul talked to them. And they said that they enjoy the Christmas cards, etc. I haven't had a chance to talk more with them yet. I think Judy was going to look for your email though. I'll let you know when I get a chance to chat more with them. :)

Oh, and I'm sorry if my poem depressed you, I changed the title and put in a disclaimer that it is meant as strictly a humerous look at what moms have to try to do in a day. :) (by no means a portrayal of myself, just read my cooking disaster blogs, hee hee)

Allrie said...

I am sooo sorry if my comment hurt your feelings in any way--I was sort kinda joking about being depressed by it. I think we as women and especially as Moms have unrealistic expectations of ourselves all too frequently. Italians, Jews and Catholics tend to thrive on the guilt from these constant expectations--but as LDS, we don't do guilt nearly as well, we just get depreassed and sink a little lower while our personal expectations rise a little more. You really hit the nail on the head.

I always enjoy Judy's Christmas letters as well. It was just awkward for awhile, because My ex-husband had looked them up just before I left him, and I actually avoided our "couple friends" for a few years, so that no one would feel as though they had to take sides. It was good to re-establish contact.

Anonymous said...

Oh, don't worry, no hurt feelings here, I was just worried that I had made you feel bad is all. It made me think that maybe I should change the title, etc. to be sure people know it is all in fun. It's always good to get peoples reactions to see if a poem or other piece of writing gets the desired effect. Readers don't always interpret it the way the author would expect. So this was a good learning experience for me too, to look at something I write from lots of different angles.

I'm a tough nut, it takes a lot too hurt my feelings, and then I get over it quick anyway. No worries. :)

fourth_fret said...

i had to laugh about the eggs. being a stellar cook myself, and by stellar, i mean... i can make a mean sammich, i totally understood the need for guidance when it comes to boiling eggs.

ha.

i don't know which child of yours that was, but i think they're pretty cool.

Allrie said...

My youngest daughter, who shall be nameless here (in the guise of confidentiality) will be glad to hear that.

In all reality, she is a very good cook--just some rather odd gaps in her knowlege base.

I'll bet you can cook, too. Or do you just wiggle your nose?