Friday, February 12, 2010

Any Good Mother Would - #fridayflash

On Monday she showed her boys how to make pizza from scratch. She taught them how to knead the dough and explained the patience required to let the yeast work its magic. She showed them how to work the pizza with the palms of their hands, and not to roll it out. She explained how to layer the cheese directly on to the sauce and not to crowd the pizza with too many toppings. That night they all went to bed with flour in their hair, dried dough under their finger nails and full bellies.

On Tuesday they made shepherd's pie with shredded lamb in a rich gravy. She showed them how it was easier to pipe the mashed potato after letting the filling cool. She told them the story of how their grandmother claimed she came up with the idea of topping the pie with grated cheddar cheese but never got the recognition that was due to her. That night she had to chase them to bed, her voice hoarse from telling them stories about her mother.

On Wednesday they made chilli from prime ground beef and thick chunks of bacon. She warned them not to use too much chilli powder but they didn't listen. Little David wiped his eye with a hand he should have cleaned first and he wept for an hour straight, though by the end even he was laughing at how silly he looked with his puffy red eye. That night the boys went to bed with their mouths still burning, convinced that next time they should listen to their mother when she tells them how much chilli powder is just enough.

On Thursday she taught them how to order ingredients from the Internet. She told them how to keep the lights off at night so no one would know they were home and ordered them not to answer the door unless they could see it was a delivery person. That night the boys slept in the same bed. Together, alone, in the house.

On Friday she touched down in Tijuana, pleased with herself that she had prepared the little ones so well, as any good mother would.

16 comments:

  1. There's nothing like mother love, innit?

    I thought she was just trying to get them to learn how to fend for themselves so they wouldn't have to depend on a woman when older.

    But, she wanted the lessons to pay off sooner, eh.

    This story has just the proper amount of spices, so it came out really good.

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  2. Mr.Gully...repressed memories?

    Explains soooooo much.

    ;D

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  3. Fraid so, Kitten. It was hard cutting the boys loose but at least I know I taught them the three signature dishes they need to stay alive. What happened to them when they ended up in prison wasn't my fault.

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  4. Oh! There you go, every mother's dream. I'm kidding. The rhythm established by using the days of the week works really well and the break of the rhythm (not in using the following day, but in content) - is very effective. I'm wondering what's in store for the weekend! I think, from reading this, that you must know more about cooking than I do! Jealous.

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  5. Tijuana, eh? Any good mother knows that's where the bad mothers go. There are all sorts of bad mothers in Tijuana...

    While I love the story, I love your reply to Kat even more. :)

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  6. I like how you've structured this story with a paragraph for each day of the week;
    it was clear there was going to be some kind of twist but I really didn't see this one coming!

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  7. Oh my goodness, those poor youngin's! Loved the image of them going to bed after making the pizza.

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  8. The recipe for this story works very well. It's a good tale. Tijuana, huh? So the ratio of females to males should be quite high there, no?

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  9. So that's what I did wrong. I forgot to teach my kids to cook...
    Nice rhythm to this one.

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  10. I like the paragraph structure starting the same. I was expecting something unusual and Friday fits the bill. Homemade pizza knowledge should set them for life.
    -David G Shrock

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  11. For shame, Brat.

    Hmmmm...prison? Poor, poor babies!

    ;p

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  12. I better get a move on in teaching my kids to cook so I can head to Tijuana, too.

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  13. I wish my boy was a self-sufficient.

    There was something melodic and likeable about the story and I couldn't put my finger on it until I read David's comment. Well done Anton. Gotta go, feeling kind of hungry for some reason...

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  14. What a good mother she truly is! Excellent pace and the voice of this was fun. Eh, they should be fine...

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  15. I'm sure she plans to return to them... someday.

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  16. I knew something was up, but not what. Good twist.

    Helen
    Straight From Hel

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