Like so many moms, mine was always concerned that I wasn't eating properly or eating enough, even as an adult. I lived in New York City for about a decade between my early 20s and early 30s. Of course, my parents would drive down from Syracuse a few times a year and when they did, they used to bring me an incredible amount of food.
As soon as they parked the car, their first order of business was to bring the giant green metal cooler upstairs that was filled to the brim with all of my favorite foods. Not only did she make sure my refrigerator was full but also my freezer. In the days before coming to the city she would cook up several complete meals that she would store and freeze in containers so I would have individual meals that I could take out and heat up. It was a full-on "meals on wheels" service, complete with a sort of fake room service menu card that she made for me, which listed all the food she had brought.
As you can read on the example below, the menu contained everything from West Indian Stewed Chicken Legs to Lamb Chops in Sauce, a Pot Roast with Potatoes & Carrots, and staples like her famous Macaroni & Cheese and Hamburgers. The menu was a work-in-progress that she completed once she came to my apartment, so it eventually came with instructions as to where things were (e.g. "top shelf freezer") and sometimes what things were packed in ("bacon in plastic bag"). She also made sure I had an assortment of fresh fruits in the house and even brought me some cookies.
As soon as they parked the car, their first order of business was to bring the giant green metal cooler upstairs that was filled to the brim with all of my favorite foods. Not only did she make sure my refrigerator was full but also my freezer. In the days before coming to the city she would cook up several complete meals that she would store and freeze in containers so I would have individual meals that I could take out and heat up. It was a full-on "meals on wheels" service, complete with a sort of fake room service menu card that she made for me, which listed all the food she had brought.
As you can read on the example below, the menu contained everything from West Indian Stewed Chicken Legs to Lamb Chops in Sauce, a Pot Roast with Potatoes & Carrots, and staples like her famous Macaroni & Cheese and Hamburgers. The menu was a work-in-progress that she completed once she came to my apartment, so it eventually came with instructions as to where things were (e.g. "top shelf freezer") and sometimes what things were packed in ("bacon in plastic bag"). She also made sure I had an assortment of fresh fruits in the house and even brought me some cookies.
The other details on the note are really great too: On the right side of the card she wrote the name of the fake establishment "Lady Luck Las Vegas" with a phone number as well. There is a reminder to drink water, and look at all those pink hearts that she drew with magic marker. And lastly, she calls me by my nickname, "Holden," which is was a name that I sort of gave myself in my late teens and which stayed with me for a good decade.
With Thanksgiving coming up this week, I was thinking a lot about food and thought this would be the perfect thing to share this story. At the time, I didn't think about it so much, and maybe even took it for granted a little bit. I always knew my mom as the lady in the neighborhood who was feeding everyone - and for her driving 4+ hours to bring a cooler full of food to her son in the Big Apple just was the most normal thing to do.
With Thanksgiving coming up this week, I was thinking a lot about food and thought this would be the perfect thing to share this story. At the time, I didn't think about it so much, and maybe even took it for granted a little bit. I always knew my mom as the lady in the neighborhood who was feeding everyone - and for her driving 4+ hours to bring a cooler full of food to her son in the Big Apple just was the most normal thing to do.
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