Cooking--can't stresss how important it is. Just this afternoon my brothers and sisters and I were together and laughing about everything, as usual. One of the stories that sent us all on the floor was when my brother Joe got married and his new wife asked him how he liked his tea and he replied "I don't know. Mom always makes it just right." So my sister in law promptly called my mother to find out what her new husband likes in his tea. Shame on my brother for not knowing. And shame on my mother (God rest her soul) for spoiling him that way!
My dad and mom both cooked and taught all of us kids. In fact, my dad was a cook (not a chef, a cook) in New York City in the 1930's. So the kids (except for the above mentioned brother) learned how to cook at an early age. Including the great Carpatho-Rusyn specialties of pirohi, bobalki, hirka, lokshi and holupki. My eldest brother even makes his own maple syrup.
On the other hand, two of my Dad's brothers couldn't even open up a can of Campbell's soup for themselves or make a pot of coffee. Shame on them for not learning. One of my Aunt's called my mother pig biting mad once because she had had the flu and could barely manage to stay conscious and her husband wanted to know when she was going to get out of bed and make him his breakfast. He was hungry. My mom's reply---"It's your own fault! His mom made him that way, but you are allowing him to stay that way!" Mom always had lots of common sense. She just didn't follow it herself, sometimes!
Tim
