Why Meatballs Matter
When I was a kid I'd get off the school bus and rush into the house to the best smells. My mom was, (and still is), an amazing cook and always had something truly home-made bubbling on the stove. This was our time...time to chat, time to laugh - time to share our days with each other.
To this day I make my mom's recipes and they still remind me of being a child. The smells bring back the feelings of comfort, of home and most of all of love. Luckily my mom and I cooked together a lot when I was a kid...so I do pretty well in the kitchen myself thanks to her instruction.
And now, I cook with my ten year old daughter. We started cooking together when she was about four, and the first thing we made was meatballs. So that's part of the reason meatballs matter, but not all of it. You see when she was four she loved to squish the meat...and that's about it. As she got older, (with mom doing most of it) she would add the ingredients. Tonight, we made meatballs again - but this time she did it on her own. All of it. On. Her. Own.
As I watched this beautiful child, who is quickly becoming a young lady, make the same recipe I used to make with my mom I got a rush of pure joy... (And yes mommy sentimental misty eyes too). She's growing up and oh how the time flies! She amazes me, and I am so proud of her. She's smart, beautiful, loving...and happy…even when happy isn’t easy. And strong, which I’m sure she gets from her mother and her grandmother alike. I couldn't ask for more.
I will cherish these moments and hope that making meatballs will always matter to her because it’s our time to be together - to talk, to laugh, to share our crazy days. In the end, the meatballs were out of this world delicious, but what mattered most was the laughter.
And, thanks mom for teaching me to cook, and teaching me what’s really important. I still love making meatballs with you, and always will.