This I Believe

Service to others with my talents is one of the main things that brings real joy to me in life. One of my talents and loves is cooking. I often just cook for entertainment. My friends often laugh at me and call me Old Mother Hubbard, not because I live in a shoe, but because my pantry stays stocked just for any occasion to make food for people. Food is one of the ways we enjoy life and fellowship with others. Often the most fun I have in a day can be making key-lime pie for a neighbor, or sharing a big pot of soup with my “second family” down the street.

I grew up in a home with two working parents. I got home from school, took care of myself and mostly stayed out of trouble, because I knew my parents would arrive home at 4:45 pm. I remember growing up with my mother who did not like to cook, though she made some things in only the way a mother can, she mostly didn’t enjoy cooking as it was a chore: another thing to do before getting on with the rest of the day. So I realized early that if I wanted the food I loved, I would have to learn to make it myself.

I remember one summer, when my folks were working, and I was home for summer vacation, I made hot dogs for them when they came home from work for lunch. I think I boiled the hot dogs for an hour before they came home to eat them all split and mushy from over cooking. They loved it though, and never criticized my effort. Once, I made “supper,” ready just when my parents arrived home from work. Part of our family lore is that I had used half a container of cloves in that pot of sauce. It was just awful, but we all ate it anyway. I remember thinking I was a gourmet chef, using a new spice in this dish. I learned three lessons that day. Cooking for people made them feel special, and it made me feel happy to prepare for others. I also learned that cloves didn’t taste so good in spaghetti.

When I was in high school, I would have luncheons for the women in my church and neighborhood. I found I was developing my skills and loved to please people with food. That is when I learned I enjoyed the way I felt when I was preparing meals for others.

So many years later, I have supported myself with a catering business doing weddings, funerals, garden club luncheons, and other affairs, large and small. I have catered for 350 people with my full staff for a fundraiser netting $3M for a building project. I have also prepared dinner parties for people in their homes, acting as chef, server, and dishwasher for small and large gatherings for intimate and relaxed settings.

The service is where the joy is. I have cooked for many using one of my talents to offer pleasure to others. I even have some friends that named my collard greens, “Better than Paula’s [Deen] Collards” when some of my recipes were published in a local cookbook. It is an integral part of my life. The best part is, I can whip up a sour cream pound cake for the elderly folks that just moved in next door this afternoon. I will experience the joy, and they will experience receiving a gift truly made out of kindness. I expect no accolades, because I am the one receiving the gift, really.