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Blessed by a Glimpse of the Father She Barely Knew

Her mother teaching her son to cook proved to be an unexpected blessing for this mom.
Writer of Most Important Moment, Sabra Ciancanelli

“My oldest son, Solomon, is nearing 20. Though he excels at everything musical, practicing guitar and trumpet for hours at a time, he never got around to learning how to cook. So when my mom offered to teach him, one meal at a time, one day a week, I thought it was a great idea.

“What should we make first?” Mom asked. “Potato leek soup? Lasagna?”

“How about starting with something easy, like a grilled cheese?” I said.

“That’s too easy, Sabra. Can we at least put bacon on it?”

“Bacon it is,” I said.

That first cooking session, Solomon spent the afternoon mastering the perfect grilled cheese. He came home with a smile and explained in detail how my mom had taught him to flip a sandwich without a spatula, using a sponge to practice.

Later that afternoon, I talked to Mom. “It was a wonderful day!” she said. “He told me all about a book he’s reading for college. Chapter by chapter with dialogue. It’s as if I read it myself. Just like your father.”

“Really?” I asked. “Dad was like that?”

My parents had divorced when I was very young, and my dad had moved to another country, leaving me with only a handful of memories of him. After he died a few years ago, I let go of any hope that I might know him better.

“Your father was exactly like that, a great storyteller,” Mom said. “This cooking together is a good thing. I have to think about what Solomon and I should make next!”

I thought about the two of them cooking together and making memories that will become stories worth retelling. Not just strengthening the bonds of today and tomorrow but—miraculously—giving me a peace that I never thought I might have, the blessing of glimpsing my father through my son.

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