Monday, March 8, 2010

Memoir Monday


Hi Everyone.  I thought I'd try playing along with Travis, at I like to Fish, and do a Memoir Monday post. I stumbled across Travis' blog while visiting Erin at The Mother Load.

So, the idea is to tell a story about you.  And it has to be true.  Otherwise, there are no rules.
I have been thinking about the time I was in Chile lately.  The reason, I'm sure, is obvious.  Anyway, it was around 1990.  My husband was down there for a 6 week course and I flew down for the last week of it.  He was staying with a lovely Chilean family.  There was a mom, a teenage boy, and a dog.  They wanted us to do some cooking.  I wasn't the best cook back then, being in my early 20s and not having a lot of experience.  I did, however, manage to make a meatloaf.  Then we decided to make some chocolate chip cookies.  I had brought a dry mix with me.  I was in the kitchen stirring the dough with a wooden spoon I'd borrowed from the kitchen drawer.  The dough was really stiff, and I broke the spoon.  I was freaked.  I didn't know if I should tell the lady of the house or not.  I wasn't sure if things like that were expensive or not.  So, in my panicked state, I decided to hide the broken spoon in the trash and pretend like it never happened.  I finished the cookies, which got kind of burnt since I had no idea how to use a gas oven, and never spoke of the broken spoon again.  I don't even think I told my husband.

Later the lady of the house gave me the sweater she'd been knitting while we were there.  It's a beautiful gold sweater with the puffy sleeves that were all the rage back then.  Whenever I see the sweater, I think of the spoon.  I wonder how long it took her to notice it was gone.  I wonder if she ever suspected that the young American woman had something to do with its disappearance.  I wonder if my Catholic upbringing will ever let me let go of the guilt I still have over that stupid spoon.  I mean, it's only been 20 years.

Anyway, my heart goes out to the people of Chile during this difficult time.  We didn't keep in touch with the family we stayed with.  I don't even remember their last name.  I hope they are ok.
Thanks for stopping by today!

4 comments:

Travis said...

A spoon that's snapped in Chile will cause an earthquake 20 years later.

I'm surprised you didn't know that!

Thanks for playing today, look forward to many more stories!

Unknown said...

I'm so glad you did a Memoir Monday today! Great job!

I probably would've done the exact same thing. And I'd still be feeling guilty, too.

Lately, though, I'm learning to LET GO. EVen if she figured it out, I'm sure she knew you didn't mean to---and you'd even gone to the trouble to make dinner and dessert!

mean_owen said...

Why not send her a new spoon along with a note? This way, you make ammends and get that off your chest. The lady of the house (or current occupant) would probably get a kick out of the whole thing too.

rxBambi said...

that is too funny! you never told me that. I agree with mean owen, you should send a new spoon with a note!