Family Meal

300-word story: Despite money being tight, a mother and her adult son lead a happy life.

My mother is a domestic goddess, an absolute whizz in the kitchen. It’s just been the two of us for as long as I can remember, my dad having disappeared overnight when I was a nipper. Money is super tight and we’re constantly scrimping and saving to make ends meet, but the one place where we don’t go short is home-cooked dinners.
 
I was a pretty good kid, never avoiding my share of the chores. Each day I’d volunteer to polish the woodwork and vacuum the carpets, even doing the laundry and giving the bathroom a scrub when needed. I still carry out these tasks to this day, as well as maintaining our garden at the back of the house. It’s there that I grow a variety of herbs that go beautifully with our hearty meals, enhancing the flavour and adding a little extra zing.
 
Whilst I’m dusting, cleaning and whatnot, Mum keeps busy in the kitchen. That’s her domain, which suits me down to the ground. I’ve never been any good at cooking, whereas she can turn even the most meagre ingredients into a meal fit for a king. It’s amazing how much Mum achieves with so little, adopting a traditional DIY approach to save on cost. She does it all herself: removes the offal, trims the fat, cooks the meat, uses the bones for stews, and adds a pinch of this and that from my herb garden. Nothing ever goes to waste.
 
It might be a cramped kitchen, with its large oven, meat grinder and dozens of pots and pans taking up almost every inch of space, but it works a treat. Afterwards, good old Mum happily washes all of the dishes and wipes down the surfaces. All I have to do is burn the clothes and shoes.

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Copyright © 2020 Rich Sutherland
​Image: Pixabay

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