Prompt: Complete this thought: “I wish I had paid more attention when…”

I wish I had paid more attention when my Grandmothers were cooking.  I wish I would have been a part of it and not just a bystander.  There are times when I crave my granny’s chicken & dumplings.  It was amazing!  I could live off the stuff… My cousin comes close, really close to it, but it’s missing a certain thing that Granny used.  I don’t know what it was…  satisfaction? Love?  Completion?  I don’t really know, but it was the most amazing C&D you could have ever eaten.

My Grandma made the most amazing pecan pie.  That’s pea-khan pie if you’re not sure how to pronounce it.  Her pie crust was the most delicious, flaky, light and buttery pie crust you have ever had.  And then to have it have it be a pecan pie was… just…so…

I was lucky that both of my grandma’s were amazing cooks.  It wasn’t fancy food, it was good, home cooking, you know, comfort foods.  Mac & cheese… Christmas lunch(or dinner) at Grandma’s were amazing.  She would cook 90% of the meal herself when I was young.  Turkey, dressing, sides, dessert.  Funny story, the year after we found her in the kitchen, a little drunk, we decided to share in the joy feeding the family by doing potluck.  I think that was in ’85, maybe ’86.  Since the kids (that’s me, my sister and 5 cousins) were older (we were all teenagers by this point), we changed things up and I think had a much better time hanging out all together.

I have been very blessed in my life and I got to grow up with both of my grandmas.   I was in my late 20’s when they both passed, oddly enough within 6 months of each other.  I never really got to know my grandfathers.  One passed when I was around 6 months old and the other when I was 7.  I have few and scattered memories of him, and they are among my most precious memories.  I hold them close to my heart and pray that I never forget them.

I guess I need to rethink this.  I wish I had paid more attention when I was growing up to my grands, aunts & uncles, and gotten to know them better before they passed.