Moms Rule

Hello my foodie friends! I talked about growing up in an Italian family last week and I was reminded by one of my customers that Italians are a matriarchal nationality. It’s the women who carry on the traditions and hand out the majority of discipline, wisdom and nurturing to the children. In every room in the house the teaching and training went on. The bedroom was for making your bed, dusting furniture, sweeping the floor or vacuuming the rugs and organizing your clothes. The bathroom was to be kept clean at all times and the living room was “keep your feet off the couch”! The Kitchen was the most intense training yet, with washing and drying dishes to cleaning and setting the table. Ah, the table! We learned so much at that table and shared everything from how our day went to how to pass the potatoes! We learned manners, how to hold a fork and at watching how much Mom did to prepare the meals and us for dinner. Her words before every meal was “wash up before you sit at the table”! Every meal was “Don’t forget kids: hands, face, neck and ears”! Why all the extras? Well, in our family there were three boys and two girls who played in a wonderous place that doesn’t seem to exist anymore. It was called outside. Yes, even my sisters had a layer of dirt on them that was unacceptable at the dinner table. We looked like we came out of the mines coming in the door but at the table we were cleaned up nice or she sent us back for more washing. One such dinner my father, who was working two jobs at the time, asked for silence at the dinner table. This was very difficult for five kids but we were doing ok until the whistle! My Dad was exhausted and he had congestion in his nose. So it whistled while he breathed through his nose as he ate. As the whistling continued my brothers and I could not keep a straight face and we snickered. My dad could hear the whistle but he did not realize it was he who was whistling. Dad then ordered the whistler to stop or to bed they would go! The whistling continued and we tried to freeze our faces but it would not work and I burst into uncontrollable laughter! I proclaimed: “dad it’s you”! He questioned my sanity and I was off to bed for secret whistling. My brothers and sisters were mum on the subject. I then laughed all the way to bed. But, there was no rule Dad could make that my Mom was not allowed to break if she saw fit! (Mom broke me out.) To this day I smile when I think of it or when I have dinner with my brothers and sisters and bring up that time that dad whistled. Bring your family together for at least an hour a day. Have Mom make it a rule that way it will stick. Mealtime is family time! Remember: “Life Happens in the Kitchen”. Take care, John and Paula