When I moved to Colorado from Kansas way back in the early 1970's, I left my dear momma behind. Well, to be honest, I left a lot of things behind, the least of which was a string of broken hearts and many friends. Momma had the key to the house and the restaurant and I had a husband and a 1967 Chevy. But I also had hopes and dreams. The husband did not last long and he took the Chevy when we parted ways. The hopes and dreams would never die.
To make a long story short, I touched lightly on husband #4 and then moved on to a single life. Life was good. I had friends and I had to work 2 jobs to survive. My momma back home missed me and I missed home. So once a year I would travel back and in the spring or she would ride the train to La Junta. I would pick her up and bring her the last 50 miles. Once she traveled with a lady we both knew. That was not a good idea!
My momma loved the hummingbirds that live in Colorado, but not in Kansas, or at least I never seen them down in Hutchinson which is very hot and muggy. It soon became her quest to see as many of them as she could. I loaded her into the car and we drove to Beulah. It rained and the hummingbirds stayed hidden in the trees.
By this time I had married Kenny and we lived on the mesa. Momma really liked that. I had a feeder hanging in front of the big window in the front room and I could spot the little fellows all day, but dear momma was not so lucky. She liked to set in my rocker in front of the window and work crossword puzzles while she waited for the tiny birds to appear. My office has always been on the upper level and I have a clear view of the window, so I was the look out.
A bird would come to the feeder and I would call out to her, but by the time she finished writing the word in the puzzle, the little feathered creature had flown away. Then she would set staring at the empty perch waiting for the colorful little bird to come back. After a few minutes of staring out the window at nothing, she would go back to her puzzle and wait till I spotted another one and we would repeat the whole scenario.
We set in the front yard under the Ash tree and waited. Of course as we waited we talked and the birds did not like that so they stayed away. Her trips were always planned around the start of summer before it got to hot for the little hummers. We did travel to Beulah a time or two and parked to watch for them, but by this time her eye sight was not as clear as it used to be. I did get a picture of two hummingbirds and mounted it for her, but that was never the same.
As momma got older we worried about her riding the train alone, so someone would bring her to me. At this point of her life she was now into my cooking more so then the hummingbirds. When she arrived, she would get out of the car and in her hand she had a list of food she wanted me to prepare.
"They feed me that crap out of cans and I do not like it." She would hand me her list and my work was cut out for me. It read like this:
1. Tomato soup. Not canned tomato soup. The kind you make with tomatoes where you mash and boil them and put soda to take out the acid. And made with milk! Not water. And I like a grilled cheese sandwich with that.
2. Liver and Onions. Calf liver that is floured and browned in the skillet. Saute the onions and then put the lid on with a little water and turn it on low and let it steam.
3. Cinnamon Rolls. Made with yeast and flour and let the dough raise then roll it out and lots of brown sugar and cinnamon. And let them raise. Not out of a can!
4. Chicken and Noodles. Boil the chicken and make good broth. Homemade noodles made with egg and flour and cut on the counter. Not those slick things that come in a cellophane bag.
There were other things she liked me to fix, but those were the staples that she had traveled 400 miles and all day to eat and by the gods above I better not screw up those four things! And light on the salt! High blood pressure. "You can always put salt in, but you can not take salt out, so take it easy with that salt shaker."
Yes, momma! My sisters swore the frozen stuff or the canned stuff was as good or better than homemade, but momma wasn't buying that crock!
I miss my momma and that is a fact. I used to have a big family, but sadly I am down to only one sister. When momma was alive I always went home, but now it just isn't worth the effort. Course I am not a spring chicken any more. I like to go see my kids, but this past year, I have not done so. The pandemic, you know. I miss that. I miss momma.
I often wonder if I will ever get old enough to not miss her. Probably not. I think my kids still miss me, but I am wondering if I showed up on their doorstep with my menu in my pocket, what the reception would be! First thing is that since there are no hummingbirds in Kansas, I would have to watch the crows. As I recall those damn things were as big as chickens.
So I guess I will just set here and miss momma and wish I was young again and she was planning a visit. We have to love them while we have them, because that is how life is designed. And I wonder, if I had it to do all over again if I would do it different. I kind of doubt it, because momma had a saying for every occasion and another of her favorites was, "Try getting that toothpaste back in the tube."
So there you have it! RIP my mother, you are sorely missed!
