If you're a Mother, I encourage you to have at least one day a week where your children get into the kitchen with you and cook. Cooking with your children allows them to slowly learn one of life's "must-haves" as well as giving them an appreciation for foods and where they came from. Preparing meals with them also allows us Moms to maintain a dialogue with our children that we sometimes take for granted throughout the rush of day to day life, as well as offering us many laughs and memories along the way.
This past Sunday, RJ & Donalyn helped with Sunday Dinner. We were preparing Pot Roast with Marsala Glazed Veggies. The kids were diligent in making sure that each potato, carrot and onion were cut exactly as Mama had instructed, as much as they could through their tear-filled eyes, thanks to the onion. Many questions arised during this what seemed to be year-long task, such as: "What animal did the meat come from?", "How come there aren't potato trees?"...the questions were endless!
As dinner was simmering in the slow cooker and the fragrances of the veggies and wine filled the house, the kids got even more excited. I love getting them involved in learning things that I know they will need to know later on in life. One day, RJ will amaze his family with the fact that he knows how to make a rocking Pot Roast and I take joy in knowing that he will take that small little memory along his life's journey. It's a piece of me that he'll always have--those memories are priceless and I smile knowing that we share these little moments in life.
Once dinner was all ready and dished up, the kiddos were silent, not one word was said until every piece of food had been consumed off of their plates. Now, if I had just went into that kitchen, tossed the ingredients in the crock pot it would have taken me all of 15 minutes, but they would have barely eaten a thing. Part of their delight in the meal was knowing that THEY played a HUGE part in bringing it to the table!
As we were putting the dishes away, Donalyn was telling me just how much she loved the recipe and hoped that we'd make it again. I thought that was the perfect opportunity to ask her just why she thought that pot roast was better than all the ones that Mama had fixed before, trying to get across to her that because she helped, it made a difference. Well, much to my surprise, Donalyn had a different perspective on the whole event. Donalyn looked up at me and said: "Mah, I think the meal was so good because we were nice enough to get the meat drunk before we cooked it!" I'd liked to have died when she said that! It's the little moments with your children that make being a Mama priceless!
Kids! You gotta love 'em!
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