Simple Spaghetti

She made a simple spaghetti. Noodles and V8 juice. Yep. Just noodles and V8 juice.

I still remember sitting at her dining room table. Slurping. Laughing. Eating.

I make a more involved spaghetti. Whole wheat noodles. Pasta sauce. Ground beef. Mushrooms. Garlic. Seasoning.

My boys sit at my table. They slurp. They laugh. They eat.

Every time I sauté the mushrooms, garlic and seasoning, I think of her. As the ground beef is browning, I remember the way she would move around her small kitchen.

As I pour the whole wheat noodles into the boiling water, I chuckle at her plain white noodles. I wonder would she use whole wheat now.

As I pour in the store-bought three cheese sauce to simmer, I can almost taste the V8 juice. As I watch my boys eat, I think of sitting at the table with my siblings and cousins.

My boys cheer for my spaghetti. I’m sure I cheered for my grandma’s spaghetti. What I wouldn’t give to slurpe, giggle and eat at her table just one more time. Her simple spaghetti of noodles and V8 juice.

My grandma died in a car accident almost fifteen years ago. The older I get, the more I miss her.

I’m attempting to take part in the “The Fifth Annual Slice of Life Story Challenge” through the month of March. The challenge is run by Two Writing Teachers.

Posted

March 17, 2012

Household, Memories, Slice of Life

jessica

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Comments

9 responses to “Simple Spaghetti”

Maria

March 17, 2012

Beautiful. My grandma made much more complex sauce (ask Tony about the squid sauce some day), and I miss her too!

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Karen

March 17, 2012

The memories of your grandmother with her version of spaghetti sauce is touching. I’m actually posting about my grandmother again today, as well. I love how the simplest of tasks can transport us back in time.

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Loretta

March 17, 2012

I thought as I started reading this you must be writing about my Mother, your Grandmother. I felt tears welling up in my eyes, I miss her too. We have so many good memories. Thanks for sharing this.

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laurie

March 17, 2012

Good writing!! I miss my grandparents more the older I get too. My gpa and gma used to make us red hot dogs when we visited. Silly memory that sticks…Im sure they had no idea they were even creating those memories!

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Kellylou

March 17, 2012

Loved reading this about your grandma and your boys. I teared up at the end — I miss my grandma too, and I especially miss being in the kitchen with her!

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Anne

March 17, 2012

It really is true that grandparents are a part of our life forever. Memories are powerful and I love yours. I think today I will write about my Grandmother – I have been rehearsing in my mind for a while.

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pamelahodges

March 17, 2012

A lovely slice about spaghetti. How things we do in our life today bring back memories of loved ones. I am sorry about her death.
An interesting layering of past and present.

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Dana

March 17, 2012

Simply beautiful.

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Cathy

March 17, 2012

What a great slice about your grandma. Wouldn’t it be a delight to sit at the tables of our grandmas one more time. The short sentences really give the piece a nice cadence. Great memories to treasure.

Cathy

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