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Coyote Susan's avatar

Thanks for sharing this. The ending reminds me of my mom learning to nurture herself after her divorce. She forced herself to eat out by herself, but never enjoyed cooking for one. She got back together with my dad a decade later. They never remarried, but he nurtured her for four years before she passed away. He died in '22, and now I have her cookbooks.

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Deborah Way's avatar

Wonderful that you have them. And that she got that nurturing 💓

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Jan Burns's avatar

Though I am not cooking for one, I too leave notes in the margins of recipes I try out for the first time. Beyond a reference for myself, I hope that my children and grandchildren will one day read them and recall special memories of me. Beautiful piece of writing and memory.

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Deborah Way's avatar

What a great gift you're creating ❤️

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Stephanie Shafran's avatar

Congratulations! So many evocative layers to this narrative. So appreciate having this opportunity to read it.

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Deborah Way's avatar

It’s very affecting 💓

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Kathryn Sollmann's avatar

My mom used to say that a messy cookbook—with notes in the margins and stains on the pages—is a sign that all the recipes are tested and good. I have beloved, well-used cookbooks with pages loose from the spine or ripped, frayed covers and handwritten notes (loose or in the margins)—even a few dinner party or holiday menus tucked in. All reminders that food makes a life--alone or with others. Such a lovely story you have written--one that obviously spurs nostalgia in us all.

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Deborah Way's avatar

Love this ❤️

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April Boyington Wall's avatar

Such a loving and poignant, peace – so evocative of my own mother and her resilience and cooking skills that she passed along to me. Thanks for sharing.

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Deborah Way's avatar

💓💓💓 thank you for reading

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Miss DP's avatar

My mom wrote “good” in pencil on a lot of her recipes. I adopted the habit. :-)

Thanks for the share.

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Deborah Way's avatar

love it 💓

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Betty-Jo Tilley's avatar

The memories, the mother’s notes as important as the cookbook - a lovely piece.

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Deborah Way's avatar

❤️❤️❤️

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purl2.knit1's avatar

OMG - sounds so much like my Mom except I lived less than 1 hour away and was with her most weekends in the last 3 years of her life after a minor stroke. But sadly she was in a relationship prior to that for over 10 yrs ad had pretty much stopped cooking as he constantly told her his mother did it better. I have some of her cookbooks but sadly she never wrote in a book so I'll never know hat she made/liked/etc. Thank you for this as it brought back some fond memories for me so close to what would have been her 105th birthday.

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Deborah Way's avatar

I'm sorry for the loss of your mom *and* the record of her cooking. But glad you got all those weekends with her 💓

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Nancy Malcolm's avatar

Such a sweet and beautiful story, just like your mom.

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Deborah Way's avatar

❤️❤️❤️

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Sharon Senkiew's avatar

I love this story- hope you try those recipes!

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Deborah Way's avatar

💓💓💓

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