Garlic, Onions, and My Mama

I love how certain objects in life bring back treasured memories.

The objects come in all shapes and sizes, and the memories take all sorts of forms.

I'm making meatloaf for dinner, and that makes me think of my Grandmother, who makes the best meatloaf. In truth, it's kind of plain and she doesn't use a lot of spices, but when you eat Grandmother's meatloaf, it's something special.

Overalls and Elmer Fudd remind me of my Pawpaw Doug, who was pretty much Elmer Fudd incarnate. I think he may have even said "wascally wabbits" from time to time.

Peppermints remind me of Pawpaw's dog Snoopy, because he would suck all the red stripes off, then stick the peppermints to the back of his car seat (yuck). He told us that Snoopy would eat them, but his back seat had tons of half eaten peppermints.

Pepsi makes me think of my uncle Marty and that pretty much reminds me of my entire childhood because he's one of my favorite relatives and he was very present in my life growing up.

Christmas trees and my stuffed dog "Snowy" remind me of my cousin and best friend Jessy. When we were younger we climbed the tree and knocked it over, and we had identical stuffed dogs. we both still have our dogs and every time we get together we laugh about the Christmas tree.

Trucker's hats make me think of my dad. In all the pictures of him when he was younger, he has long hair that makes him look like a mushroom and a truckers hat perched precariously on top of all the hair.

Fireballs (the candy) make me think of my uncle Barrett because whenever he would visit from Vegas he would always have a huge bag of them to share.

Wine makes me think of my mom. Self explanatory.

But I think that the strongest (and weirdest) attachment that I have is when I'm cooking. When I dice on onion, mince some garlic, sautee it in olive oil and add a bunch of italian herbs, I'm overwhelmed with this delicious mouthwatering aroma. That aroma is like home. That's pretty much what makes me think of my mom. That's one of her favorite things too, and when I start off a meal with that base, I know it will be delicious and reminiscent of my mom's cooking because that's how she taught me. now that I think about it, that's really strange, but appropriate for our family. Most people think of their mom when they smell apple pie or pot roast or homemade pancakes. Not me. Garlic and Onions, baby.