#30
Sensing Anticipation
She sees
Crust, a crispy shell dimpled
by miniature bubbles.
Like fragile lava, hardened
She tastes
Lemon filling, with scrapings
from the rind.
Tangy and mouth-watering
She touches
Eggs, whipped while adding
sugar to the mix.
Scooped atop the filling
She inhales
Meringue, toasted light
until peaks curl and brown.
Experience a mother’s love
***** ***** *****
Mom always had little tricks for making foods taste a bit more special. She added small amounts of sugar to her pots of chili. She grated lemon rind and added it to her lemon pie filling to give it that extra tanginess. The back of my mouth waters just thinking about the flavor of her lemon pies.
Her meringue always came out with perfectly browned and curled peaks. I guess all of her desserts seemed perfect to me. The only “tale” we ever heard as kids was the one about the chocolate pudding.
Dad loved to tell the story about when they were newly married. Mom attempted to make chocolate pudding for him. He said it ended up the texture of tanned horse-hide. He always got the “faux air slap” gesture for telling the tale, but I think Mom enjoyed having him tell it. She had no inadequacies in her role as homemaker.
While Dad served in the Army during World War II, she ran the household and took care of three small children. Rosie the Riveter, doing her patriotic duty in the factory while her man protected the country’s freedom, had nothing on my mother. Housewives kept “home fires” burning during that time. When the men returned home to their families, they found strong, independent women waiting for them.
Images of “Leave It To Beaver” moms and “I Love Lucy” wives were as much a joke to these women as to the men.
