Apples Don't Fall Far
Sept 28, 2004 AM/Home
The day before my sister's wedding, my mother and I were in my kitchen. Mom's working on a salmon tartar dish. I'm working on a lemon simple syrup for the wedding cake and the first batch of buttercream icing. The kids had a birthday party to go to at a neighbor's house down the street, and Amanda's taking both kids so I ask my father if he'd like to go with her and help out. His response was a somewhat joking, "no f***ing way." Ok, then.
Not two minutes later Dad's in the kitchen doing his, "what can I do to help" routine. Mom, the smart one, isn't playing. I'm thinking he could have helped with the kids, but I'm trying to be inclusive and set Dad to work zesting the lemons for the simple syrup. But he doesn't know where the lemons are, or where the microplaner zester is, or how to zest the lemons with the thing. I finally get him going on that project. After the lemons we give him some limes to zest for the salmon tartar.
But then its back to, "what can I do". So I have him make lemonade with the zested lemons. But of course he doesn't know where the juicer is. And then he doesn't know how to make lemonade. Or where the sugar is, once I tell him lemonade is made by just adding sugar and water to the lemon juice. Or how much sugar, and for some reason, "until it tastes good" doesn't seem to cut it. Meanwhile between questions Dad's waxing sentimental about our bygone generations sweated on the porch in Alabama, and for some reason THEY seem to know how to make lemonade. This goes on until finally I can take no more.
Mom who would have banished my father to the TV at the very outset, smiles and then suggests Dad go watch baseball. Off he trots. A few more bursts about sitting on the porch in Alabama float back to us. I'm literally doubled over in frustration. Mom's smiling.
The one saving grace of all the talk of bygone generations making lemonade does remind me how neat it is to be in the kitchen with my mother cooking up my little part of a wedding feast. Now that's old school! And for some reason or other, I have no doubt I'll double Phoebe and Piper over in frustration on the eve of their weddings.
Far into the future, I can see myself saying, "For your Auntie Jennifer's wedding, your grandmother and I, we were cooking up a storm ... say, anything I can do to help out?" Because, as we all know, apples don't fall far!
