Jon and Kate plus…meatballs?
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- September
- 21
My enduring love of reality TV is not something I’m particularly proud of, but I always find in between all the horrifying preening and only-in-America emotive TMI, there is something useful, OK maybe just interesting, to take away.
Consider Tim Gunn of Project Runway. Have you ever encountered a sweeter, more calming figure? Watching him, hand resting thoughtfully on chin, gently encouraging an overwrought designer to “be your own editor” is like chamomile tea through the tube for me.ÂÂ
And sometimes reality TV is great for reminding you of just how easy your life is compared to some.ÂÂ Jon and Kate Plus 8ÂÂ falls squarely in that camp.
I’m sure you’ve ÂÂ heard the story. This Pennsylvania couple has twins, then tries to get pregnant again and ends up with sextuplets. It’s insanity times 8.ÂÂ
But what I love is how it makes three kids under 7 — which is what we have — seems so easy, so quiet, so calm.ÂÂ
I’m also struck at how much the kids love, love, love having days alone with Mom and Dad.ÂÂ They simply can’t stop smiling. Jon and Kate allow them to choose whatever itinerary they’d most enjoy and they head off together, a blissful and rare outing as a family triumvirate.
A huge chocolate milkshake with lunch? Perfect. Ear piercing for one of the older girls? No problem.
ÂÂIt’s easy to forget amid all our day-to-day stresses how infectiously joyful the sight of happy kids can be.ÂÂ
ÂÂWith that playing in the back of my mind, I decided to, at least for now, try the more challenging kid-cooking projects just one-on-one.ÂÂ I love to cook with my kids, but sometimes having to mind three pairs of hands and a bag of flour amid cries of “but her measuring cup is bigger!” is just too much drama for this mama.
ÂÂSo the other day, while the oldest was in school and the baby was napping (I wasn’t playing hooky, I promise — I work weekends so I have time off during the week), me and my almost-5-year-old tackled her most ambitious project to date — homemade meatballs and sauce. She did great! So careful mixing together the meat, the bread crumbs, the parsley and onion, expertly rolling it into little balls. We had a blast.
I actually got a bit emotional. I can only describe the sensation as a little catch in the heart when you realize you are doing something that women for centuries before you have done and also derived enormous comfort from, that place in time where domesticity feels nothing like drudgery. When the act of creating or giving sustenance feels like opening a gift and it cost you nothing.
I used to feel that way when they were babies, nursing them in the middle of the night, alone in a quiet living room, the TV on mute, throwing off just enough blue glow to light our way back to the crib. That’s not to say there weren’t blazing moments of impatience at the baby who wouldn’t nap more than 15 minutes at a time or those days when you believed in the core of your being that you were the only woman on Earth who couldn’t do this parenting thing right. There were just moments when I got it. When I realized this time was as powerful as it was fleeting and it needed to be recognized.
So there we were.ÂÂ A mother in a quiet kitchen on a cloudless late summer afternoon teaching her little girl how to cook, laughing at messy hands, wiping onion tears away with a little kiss.
This entry was posted
on Sunday, September 21st, 2008 at 10:51 am by Katie Ryan O'Connor.
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WOW…what a wonderful description of the joys of cooking with kids. It was nice to have a little reminder of the importance of spending one-on-one time with your kids! I have four and they rarely get special mom and dad time only!
Trish