I had a nice day too. I want to establish that from the very beginning because the story I'm about to tell could easily be construed as complaining. I'm not complaining; it's just one of those moments in life that begs to be recorded.
"Once upon a time there was a mom of four children. She adored them all, and learned from them many valuable lessons about patience, charity, and cleaning up bodily fluids. She also had a loving husband who was a generous provider and a good father. They lived a happy life, only occasionally marred by the fact that in a household of six different individuals, chances are there is always at least one family member crying, moping, or making a mess.
Now once a year, this family set aside one day to celebrate and give thanks to this mom for all of her sacrifices and love. It was a good tradition filled with charming, child-made cards, dandelion bouquets, breakfast in bed and a reprieve from all chores. And there was dinner. What these dinners lacked in execution was usually made up for in enthusiasm. And although, sometimes there was a lapse in planning and preparation, the husband and the four children always managed to get a decent meal to the table eventually.
Then one year, this family got word that the special day that had been set aside would fall on a Fast Sunday. This meant any plans for breakfast in bed were scrapped. Not to fear...they would prepare an even more ambitious dinner that evening instead. They would make lasagna. The mom loved this dish and looked forward to sharing this special meal with her family.
After church, the family kindly sent their mom upstairs to take a nap and got to work on dinner. She gave Dad careful instructions about the procedure and recipe. He only ran into one problem. The only pasta he found in the house was labeled, "oven ready." His wife understood that oven ready noodles take a longer time in the oven and since it was a hot day, and they were all hungry from skipping two meals already she suggested he go ahead and boil them. Especially since Dad was not particularly fond of the results of oven cooked noodles anyway.
Then she cheerfully went off to bed where she curled up with a book and a delighted cat.
An hour and a half later, she emerged downstairs groggy and hungry. Her husband assured her dinner would be ready soon. He then proceeded to check the oven. He expressed concern that it didn't look right. Mom suggested that he remove the foil and let the casserole bake uncovered long enough to melt the cheese on top. He did this, and again expressed concern that it didn't look right.
With some anxiety, Mom came to check it out. The noodles on the top were rigid and crunchy. She asked her husband, "did you cook the noodles?"
He responded, "No, they're 'oven ready.'"
A note of panic crept into her voice, "So did you add water to the sauce and cover the pan with a double layer of foil?"
"You never told me to do that."
"But I did tell you to cook the noodles, right?"
The hungry mother could see this was going nowhere. She poured a cup of water over the entire dish, covered it tightly and put it back in the oven for 45 minutes. Even though she was starving, she was not unaware of the humor of the situation. So she spent the next 45 minutes laughing and crying at the same time. She had little faith that the remedy would save the dish, and was beginning to suggest back-up meals. But lo and behold, it worked...sort of. They only had to sacrifice one noodle.
After she ate and was restored to herself she couldn't help but say to her husband, "You do realize that we will talk about this meal on every Mother's Day from now until forever?"
2 comments:
No, not mean. laugh away...I am!
Very funny story. Mom saves the day (again)
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