I had a lovely Mother’s Day – a visit with my granddaughter and her parents, a cheerful call and flowers from my daughter and son-in-law. The only thing wrong with it was the food: I decided to buy the side salads as a gift to myself. They weren’t good; I should have taken the time to make them myself. I’m apparently a better cook than Whole Foods. However, each of my family members, present or absent, showered me with love. I needed that cushion.
So many women struggle with body image. I was always overweight, or over the weight society and my mother expected of me…
On the day before the world shut down, we made a last run to our local bookstore. On the discount rack I found a copy of James Beard, The Theory and Practice of Cooking. I read through the classic and made a few of the recipes over the next few months, but mostly I bought it because it was one of the books that was always on my Aunt Janice’s shelf, in the family room off the modern, galley kitchen, over the built-in, “L”-shaped white couches…