Marie may like meatballs without raisins, Susan may like meatballs with raisins. One is gluten free, the other can not drink caffeine after 4:00 p.m. One likes meatballs in sauce, the other no sauce….One likes ham, the other vegetarian….When the holidays roll around there is something in my being that wants/needs to have something for everyone…Oh I’m on that list as well…One (me) wants an artichoke or two on the table as well as oysters and of course canolli…all of these food choices must be present on my holiday dinner table. Yet, I want the day to be casual, the meal to be casual and family to be nothing more than comfortable.

It seems for me chaos is comfort..the more bowls used, the more comfort…the more noise in the kitchen, the more comfort…

I used to wonder why, but no more. I am learning that I am nothing more than the current representative from the past…Maya Angelou writes that we stand alone with 10 million behind us. Years and years of ancestors living, working, raising families, dying…Italy, Sicily….United States (New York State)…the magnitude is magnificant. For me, representing those before me means recipies and certain food.

It just feels good…. this means less elbow room at the dinner table, more bowls, more platters of food on the table…but to me I am presenting part of my past, part of my joy for family being with us at the table, and showing some of my past memories… now; making new memories…I now have many new memories with one new one in particular that I learned just this Christmas; my grandchildren fill the canolli shell with whipped cream….just love this!!!!

Merry Christmas…from Nurturing Nonni