It is funny how we come to love and appreciate certain things in life.
Some of those appreciations are learned over time. And on occasion, they become our “favorite” things. Like meals, for instance.
One of my favorite meals was a Spaghetti-o Concoction. I have Regina to thank for that. Regina was one of my grandmothers.
Alright. Confession Chamber. Truth be told, I didn’t care so much for my Grandma Regina. She never spoke, or smiled, or played…. and by god…. she could not cook to save her life.
But when Grandma and Grandpa would babysit for us, she would on occasion, fix us a meal. It was always the same. Spaghetti-os with ground beef and lots of black pepper. Lots of black pepper. We always got a plateful of Archway cookies too. The kind with the Raspberry fruit filing. And to drink… a 7-UP.
Every time.
Now at first, you could barely choke it down… with the half-tin of pepper sprinkled throughout. But eventually, over time… I started to really like it. I’d take a bite and slug it back with the cold 7-UP. Kind of reminiscent of the old tequila, lime, salt combo when you do a shot.
Yes, I acquired a taste for the Grandma’s Home Cooked Spaghetti. Like people acquire a taste for Limburger Cheese , or Braunschweiger and Mayonnaise Sandwiches.
It has even become one of my sort-of-fond-memories of my Grandma. Well… my ONLY sort-of-good-memory of her.
You know…. I just don’t think she learned how to love people. It makes me sad to think about her sadness. Maybe she was different with the older kids. I don’t know. But when I was growing up, it was obvious that she was pretty miserable. There was no joy.
If I could get in my Time Machine, I’d go back and ask her. Ask her why she felt so dreadful……and if there was something I could do to help.
But I can’t go back, so I will never know…. and I missed my chance to help her.
I hope I never make the same mistake with anyone else…… ever again.
AND…. I ALSO hope Sphaghetti-os has a great line of commercials slated for Superbowl Sunday. Some things should not be forgotten.
“Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Polly I remember Regina as a sweet, quiet lady. I remember eating in the kitchen when I was young about 14 or 15. I don’t know who did the cooking. It may have been Lucy. I don’t remember much about her. She was very kind and I’m sure she loved all you kids. You should ask your siblings their thoughts on this subject. There are so many things I wonder about and sadly have no one left to ask.
Hey Aunt Janet,
Thanks for sharing this memory of Grandma. I am sure she was a sweet woman. She just seemed sad to me. She always had kind of a “neutral” look on her face. Neither smiling, or frowning. I will have to look at old photos to see if she smiled much in those… AND… ask my sibs their thoughts. Love you Aunt J.