There were two big Tupperware bowls in my house growing up. One had a flat bottom and probably looked old the day Mom brought it home. The other was yellow and modern-looking, and it fit inside the older container. Its primary purpose was for popcorn, which meant it would get used a lot.
I keep thinking about all the good things that came out of those bowls this time of year. By now, Mom would be tearing up pieces of bread into small pieces and putting them into the big bowl. From there, it went to the top of the fridge for the bread to dry out and eventually used in the Thanksgiving dressing for the whole family.
And when I say whole family, I mean 50 or so people to feed.
Then it was time for the yellow bowl to get a job. The “fancy” bowl was where dough went to be mixed. And it would join the old Tupperware on top of the fridge for the dough to rise. The whole time, my big question was wondering if she was making loaves of bread or butterhorns (some may say crescent rolls). Each of these caused their own problems with us kids. One big issue was who would end up getting the butt-end, and the second being who would get the biggest crescent roll. All of which would be settled the way things are in big families, which was by pecking order. If you happened to be the youngest of the family, like myself, you didn’t peck.
Both of those bowls never made it to the dinner table on holidays. They couldn’t stand up to the fine china that Mom and Dad received as a wedding gift. The kind of china that you stayed away from strictly out of fear. Plus, the bowls were too big to be at the kid’s table. There’s only so much room at a little table that was truly meant for playing cards, but acted as the kid’s table on holidays.
Unless it was a movie night and Holly was making popcorn, those bowls went into storage on the top shelf of the pantry. They sat on the shelf above the flour bins they were forever linked to during the holidays.
I’m not sure if we got them from Mom, but I know we now have two bowls exactly like the ones I grew up with. The uses now may be different, but the demand is still the same. They are there for the big jobs. We take them for granted, but they’re always there during the busy times. You know where they’re at, you know what they’ll do, and you know you need them.
I guess times aren’t all that different after all.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
Good riding with you,
Joel
Comments