Memories of my Mother-in-Law

Even with the passage of over 20 years since her death - I still think of my mother-in-law frequently. She would have been 79 years old today. The things she left behind when she died suddenly in her mid-50s are still some of the handiest things in my kitchen - reminders of her best wishes for me from the beginning of my relationship with her son.

When I use one of her wooden spoons or the mini-food processor or the flower shaped plastic for opening too-tight lids, I often think of the years she missed….events I would have enjoyed sharing with her: the activities of my daughter’s growing up…the career highs and lows….the experience of becoming post-career.

One of the knives she bought - serrated and perfect for slicing tomatoes - broke recently and I felt like it was a small part of her that was gone rather than a tool. The wooden handle on her breadknife cracked but I still keep it in the drawer.

In retrospect, there was so much about her that I did not know; there were some discoveries after she died. Not knowing doesn’t matter now.

The memories evoked by the items I use so often in the kitchen are fond ones.