Hey Mama Monday: The Memories You Create When You Cook

Hey Mama,

Do you have a child who loves your cooking? Is there a particular dish he or she loves? You probably have no idea right now the memories you’re creating. Strong, strong ones.

Fast forward 40 years from now. Maybe you’re gone. Or perhaps you live with your daughter and her family. The years have been kind, but the way you raised your children up in the Lord is proving even kinder. You are loved. Your stable children truly care. They rise up and call you blessed.

After you’re gone, the memories remain. Your children will cherish them forever. And they’ll remember your cooking, your hands that served them. Your recipes. Your delicious tacos, or the way you made soup beans and cornbread. Your son and his wife will try and recreate your signature spaghetti sauce… but they can’t. Believe me, I speak from experience. How I wish I had Paul’s mom’s amazing shrimp patties, cactus and rich red sauce recipe. My husband loved it! We’ve ordered it in Mexican restaurants but of course it’s not the same. Nothing can come close to matching what her hands created for him, the way he remembers. He can still taste that dish. Time and again, she served her family cactus. Her tamales, too. The seasoned meat made in just her way. That taste is forever imprinted in his mind, but because she didn’t write it down, it remains in his heart only – I can’t make it for him. I’ve tried.

My own mom made almond pie. No one I’ve ever known makes almond pie like she did! Thanksgiving was incredible. The highlight was Mom’s pie for dessert. But she’s been gone for over 20 years, and I have no idea how she did it. I can’t call her now and ask her to email me the recipe… If only I could call her, talk to her one more time. It wouldn’t be about pie. I miss her.

Don’t simply print recipes off or email them to your grown children. I mean, sure, the basic recipes, you can do that with. Bone broth. How to make a white sauce. What to serve ham with – print those kinds of things off. But the signature dishes… think about those. Those special recipes your kids ask you for frequently. Don’t forget to pass those on to your children. And forget about the printer or email. Write them out in your own hand. Your handwriting.

40 years from now, they will pull those out to refer to them. To recreate your handiwork. To gaze at the handwriting, and to remember.

Write it down, Mama. You’re already passing down the love and admonition in the Lord every single day, and it’s not done in vain. They’ll remember. But don’t forget to write the dishes down. It will be a way to give your grown, now-aging children a love gift that will lift their hearts always. You’ll still be “cooking for them”, side by side, even then.

As for today, Mama, His hand is on your head. <3