How To Cook

Have you ever stopped to think about how fast time passes? As a child time seems to crawl by, especially when you are looking forward to something like the holidays or your birthday.

A FAMILY ISN'T ABOUT WHOSE BLOOD YOU HAVE ITS ABOUT WHO YOU CARE ABOUT
Author: unknow

As an adult it seems like birthdays come way to fast and no matter how early you start preparations the holidays catch you unprepared. The years in which my children grew up seemed to fly by. I was always so busy working and keeping up with their busy schedule that they were in high school before I knew it. The opportunities to do so many things with them that I had planned seemed to slip away.

About a year ago the realization of time passing hit me hard. My daughter was beginning her senior year of high school. We were visiting with my mother and she was talking about all the meals I prepared for the family when I was growing up. My daughter made the statement that she did not know how to cook. I looked at her and realized that this was true.

Reality is the only obstacle to happiness.
Author: Unknown

Our family meals were so often rushed it was easier for me to make them quickly rather than take the time to make sure that my children knew how to cook. On the way home from my mothers house I told my daughter that I was going to teach her how to cook so that she would be able to prepare meals for herself when she left home.

From that time on I included my children in the meal preparations. I strongly feel that knowing how to cook is a skill that everyone should have. Both of my children were interested in learning so the task was not difficult. I had them help prepare dinner by washing the vegetables that we were going to east with our meal. Soon they were peeling potatoes and carrots as well as learning how to cook various meats. My daughter started looking through my cookbooks to find recipes that she wanted to try. She found out that she really enjoys baking, especially different cookies and bars. She would invite her friends over to make a batch of cookies and then eat them as they watched a movie. We found we had many great talks as we were making meals together.

On Saturday mornings my son and daughter started making different brunches for the family. We made a deal that they would cook the brunch and my husband and I would do the clean up after. This was a great routine. My husband and I got to spend time together going for a walk or reading the paper while the meal was prepared and then we would visit during the clean up time. We both agreed that we should have taught the children how to cook much earlier so we would have had more years to enjoy this routine.

Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Others stay for a while and leave footprints on our hearts and we are never ever the same.
Author: Unknown