Learning to Cook

When I talked to my parents about getting married on August 24, just before going back to college for my junior year, they gave me permission.  I was still 19 and at that time we needed our parents permission to marry before 21. 

Mom decided that since I'd be getting married at the end of summer, I should take over the kitchen chores so I'd know how to cook when I got married.  I already did know a good bit about cooking since there were times when I would make dinner while my mom did a sewing project for me that was too tough for me. But now, she had me do all the cooking.

Even the day of our wedding, I made our dinner.  I fixed what we called stuffed pork chops, but it was really stuffing on top of the pork chops, covered with foil and baked till done.  I asked Marlin today if he remembers what he did the day of our wedding.  Yes, he remembers, he said.  He went to pick up the suit that his dad had bought for him that was being altered to fit him.

Yes, I learned how to run a kitchen that summer but what I didn't learn was how to shop for groceries.  Oh, I went along with my mom, almost all the time, when she went shopping.  But I wasn't paying attention to what Mom was doing or how she made decisions.  I was having a lark, sneaking something silly into the gorcery cart where I was sure she'd see it and make me put it back.  I really didn't want to have to eat eel!  When we went for groceries after we were married, I overspent in a big way!  But only that once.  After that, I carried paper and pencil and added up my purchases to make sure I was staying within the budget.  Now I have a pretty good idea of how much I'm spending without doing a running total.  And I still cook!

Posted by: NJ on 8/24/2004 2:45:18 PM , 2 comments