I recently got the opportunity to spend an entire day with my mom in the kitchen. Admittedly, my mother and I do not get this chance often — either we’re busy or I’m being a bad daughter and decide to be a potato for the day. On this day in particular, however, I wanted some cooking lessons. I started the day thinking that the only thing I was going to gain was how to finesse some dishes I hadn’t made before. To my surprise, I gained so much more.
I had no idea what my mom was going to cook that day, I just wanted to learn. I headed to the kitchen that morning to find my mom with a hefty goal. My mom set out to make picadillo, rice and peas, cauliflower, broccoli, roasted chicken (whole), plantanos, baked potato wedges, and blueberry muffins. Why did she commit to make all this? Because she was making enough food for our family as well as enough to pack and take to my grandmothers’ houses (who both live 2 hours away in another state). You see... my mom is in what is sometimes called the sandwich generation. It’s that time period between 40 and 60 where you are taking care of / are in some way responsible for the well being of both your children AND your parents. You are sandwiched in between.
Now, it would be one thing if my mom was only spending the day cooking. But if you are a mom, or had the privilege of growing up with one, you know the day is always full of many tasks. Throughout the day, in between making these dishes and teaching me what to do, my mom listened to a heated discussion between my sister and I, listened to me talk about said discussion, took my sister to work (and likely listened to my sister talk about the same discussion), tended to my dad, served my brother dinner, talked on the phone with whomever called, etc.
By the end of the day, I realized I hadn’t asked my mom how she was doing. She spent the day thinking about the rest of us, and I hadn’t taken the time out to talk to her about her. My dad probably did, my siblings may have when I wasn’t in ear shot, but I hadn’t.
This day, I gained a new found appreciation for my mom. It’s really important to pay attention to our moms, and any other sandwiches in your life. They take so much time to take care of others, they don’t always get the same chance to take care of themselves.
Yes it's Women's History Month, so we tend to pay more attention to some of the women in our lives, but we should be paying attention to our sandwiches more often - definitely more than this month, their holidays, and/or their birthdays. Send a message to your sandwich and let them know you love and appreciate them. Your favorite sandwich may not be your mom, but I'm sure there are some sandwiches in your life, and you need no other reason to show them love, other than the fact that they are your sandwich and they look out for you.
To my momma,
Te quiero y gracias for being a great example for me. I appreciate all that you do, and when I become a sandwich, I want to be just as great as you!
Hablamos Pronto,
Jesseñia
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