The title of this posting is an adaption of an old song that goes"There's a hole in my bucket, dear Liza,dear Liza..." I grew up among a sister, and two brothers. My eldest brother, Donald, was 15 years older than me and was more like a second father, than a brother. My other brother, Billy, was 8 years older than me and was the bane of my existance at that time. He took his job of irritating his two sisters very seriously. Among the many tricks he used to play on me was the "hole in the biscuit".
I used to tell my children that I didn't know that biscuits came without holes until my brother left for the navy. My mother cooked a big dinner every night right down to the biscuits. If you needed anything, it would be passed around until it got to you. We sat in the same spots every night. The biscuits always set between my brother Bill and my daddy. Whenever I wanted a biscuit, my brother would take one, poke his finger into the bottom very quietly and then proceed to pass it one to me. It took me several years to discover why only my biscuits came with holes in the bottom. I should have known something was going on since my brother was always smiling and snickering when I got my biscuit.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Lessons from Mama's Kitchen
The lessons I learned from Mama's kitchen while I was growing up were many. The obvious ones were those of learning to cook many things the way Mama did. I still cook many things just like Mama. I not only learned how to cook but also how to enjoy food.
But even more important than those lessons were all the other things I learned while I was in Mama's kitchen. I learned to sing harmony as I blended my voice with the voices of my mama, sister, and father and occasionally with my two brothers. It was literally "daddy sang bass, mama sang tenor". My sister sang soprano and I sang alto. We sang without music most of the time. We just sang.
I learned the value of words sitting at the table while Mama cooked supper. I would do my homework and then I would get the dictionary and play "Try to Stump Mama". I very seldom did. That woman's vocabulary was AMAZING! I would thumb through the dictionary picking out words. I would read the definition and she would guess the word. Sometimes I would read the word and she had to give me the definition. Little did I know that while I was working so hard to "stump Mama" she was expanding my vocabulary and making me a better reader.
Another lesson I learned in the kitchen was actually from my daddy and not my mama. My daddy use to dance with me as we sang or as the radio played. It was made up silly dances but it filled me with joy and a love for dance.
Our family always sat down together for dinner. We had a big "eat-in"kitchen. Everybody knew what time supper was and that we had better have our behinds in those chairs. We ate ,talked, laughed, and solved the worlds problems sitting at that table. When I had my own family I tried to do the same and managed to succeed most of the time .If I could wish one thing for families today, it would be for them to have the opportunity to create their own "lessons from mama's kitchen".
But even more important than those lessons were all the other things I learned while I was in Mama's kitchen. I learned to sing harmony as I blended my voice with the voices of my mama, sister, and father and occasionally with my two brothers. It was literally "daddy sang bass, mama sang tenor". My sister sang soprano and I sang alto. We sang without music most of the time. We just sang.
I learned the value of words sitting at the table while Mama cooked supper. I would do my homework and then I would get the dictionary and play "Try to Stump Mama". I very seldom did. That woman's vocabulary was AMAZING! I would thumb through the dictionary picking out words. I would read the definition and she would guess the word. Sometimes I would read the word and she had to give me the definition. Little did I know that while I was working so hard to "stump Mama" she was expanding my vocabulary and making me a better reader.
Another lesson I learned in the kitchen was actually from my daddy and not my mama. My daddy use to dance with me as we sang or as the radio played. It was made up silly dances but it filled me with joy and a love for dance.
Our family always sat down together for dinner. We had a big "eat-in"kitchen. Everybody knew what time supper was and that we had better have our behinds in those chairs. We ate ,talked, laughed, and solved the worlds problems sitting at that table. When I had my own family I tried to do the same and managed to succeed most of the time .If I could wish one thing for families today, it would be for them to have the opportunity to create their own "lessons from mama's kitchen".
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Graduation Day
What a day it has been! Today is my sixty-first birthday. It is also my "Graduation Day".After 55 years of going to school either as a student or a teacher, I have finally stopped going to school. Today I retired from teaching. I am happy, excited, scared, and grateful all at the same time. I have been blessed to be able to do what I love to do for so many years. I decided to be a teacher when I was seven years old. I never once changed my mind. One thing I promised myself was that if I ever felt that I could not do the job to meet my standards that I have set for myself that I would leave. My students deserve the best each and every day. Over the last week or so it has become obvious that that time has come. I will always love teaching and in a few months will sub now and then, but for now I am excited to start a new chapter in my life. I feel that God has opened this door for me . I can't wait to see the blessings that are awaiting.
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