Nostalgia
I sat here this morning eating my cinnamon toast, and I started thinking about all the little things from back home I have brought with me into this 'adult' life. I sit here in a house that belongs to someone else, that has someone else's life stamped all over it, and yet I have found a way to bring my own childhood into it in small ways. For instance - the shaker that I use to mix my cinnamon and sugar for my toast - it's the same shaker I used growing up as a child. I think when I had left for college, I missed my cinnamon toast so my mom gave me the shaker and showed me how to mix the cinnamoon and suger (yeah, a very technical task but then I was (and still am) kind of stupid in the domestic arts!).
There is a spoon with a green handle that I MUST use when eating my mom's chicken soup. I will dig it out of the dishwasher and hand wash it if needed. Don't ask me why, but that's the way it is
I always eat my toast on one of my mom's old Melmac plates. Something about the sound of the knife on those hard plastic plates reminds me of growing up, sittng at our kitchen table getting ready for school.
I remember other 'traditions' growing up. For instance - there were specific glasses that we used whenever we drank pepsi (out of the old tall bottles!). We only had Pepsi when we had pizza (home made of course), and it seemed we only had Pizza on the occasional Sunday. Why only Sundays? I am not sure, but that is what I remember! I also remember those dark blue/grey plates with the white rope edge (Bob and I would fight over the chipped one) - those plates were only used for three specific meals - Spaghetti, Chop Suey, and Chili (in which I usually had a boiled hot dog or slice of leftover pizza because I hated chili!).
Sou was always eaten in specific bowls - Dad had his bowl and I had mine. Dad always filled his bowl up with noodles, parsley, carrots (which he cut up into exact pieces) and chicken pieces first and then added the soup. I always put the soup in forst, then added the noodles.
Of course, the chocolate chip cookies always went in the apple cookie jar (which I now own!). No other cookie ever crossed the threshhold of that jar. It was an unwritten law - sugar cookies and M&M cookies were kept in large tupperware containers in the drawer, but chocolate chip cookies were kept only in the apple cookie jar (which had it's very own place of honor on the far corner of the countertop).
We always had punch and/or pizza on the day we set up the Christmas tree. The garland always went on last, and it was never quite correct (accoring to those in charge of putting it up!). Everyone had their own specific ornaments they liked to hang up, on specific sides of the tree. The Christmas album of choice was always Andy Williams (the one with the red cover).
Maybe I will add to this list later...more and more nostalgic memories keep coming to me!
