I often find it funny the random things that make me think of Mom. It’s often a bunch of yellow flowers growing in tough spot. It could be a lonely sock that just can’t seem to finds its mate. She always pinned the girls socks together when she washed clothes. She didn’t want one to get lost. Tonight, it was a rotisserie chicken.
My Bout with Chicken
If you know me very well, you know that chicken and I just don’t really mesh very well. I blame that it on my mom! First of all, she was weird about food, and it rubbed off on me. Second, she just plain spoiled me. After I grocery shopped, she would cut up all my raw chicken. She would bag it nicely in freezer bags. And most of the time, she would cook supper for us. I just hated to deal with the slimy mess and bones were for sure a no go!
Mom to the Rescue
Sometimes, I would purchase a rotisserie chicken when she didn’t feel like cooking or if we were in a hurry. I would just take the breast meat off and be ready to trash the rest (remember … bones… and other stuff). Mom would stop me and take it. She would pull every bit of meat off those bones and use it for other things. And she would feed some to old Toby. By this time, he had become her baby and was just a spoiled as the rest of us! Well… time marched on. Mom is no longer here. Just the memories that pop in unexpectedly and bring joy. I had to grow up and touch my own disgusting chicken.
Our Dog, Toby
Toby is an old dog now. He’s almost 17. I noticed about a year ago that he was losing hair on his back and he was scratching a lot. I would give him the canned dog food that he had been eating his whole life and it would just sit in the bowl until the next day. I decided to try to feed him a more natural meal to see if that would help him. He started getting chicken and mixed veggies. After a few weeks, I noticed that his bald spot started having more hair and he wasn’t scratching. We never went back to the canned food. He’s a spoiled old boy these days!
Toby’s Chicken
Every week, I buy a rotisserie chicken and some mixed veggies. Tonight, as I was lovingly pulling that chicken to shreds with my little old dog sitting at my feet waiting for tasty tidbits, I couldn’t help think of Mom. Oh, how she loved! How often did she pour out love on Toby? How many times did she lovingly cut the chicken to pieces and bag them up so I could have an easy time? How many times did she lovingly do the dirty work, just to make my life easier? She did it so often, that I know I took her for granted. But she just kept giving and loving.
Memoirs of Chicken
What a fond memory to pop up in the middle of the dirty chicken work! Mom always tried her best to make the best of the hard things in life and I’m so thankful for the memories that bring joy in the middle of a slimy job!
