Soup, Growing Up and Dinner with my Mom

It was a nice fall day and I was having a rare dinner date with my mom. I say this is rare because we’re a family of five so alone time with her was always rare. Also, I usually reeked of chlorine after water polo practice and was too tired to go out. But here I was, just having a sit-down dinner at Fresh Choice. My mom starts looking at the soup of the day and butternut squash is on the menu.

Now, if you’ve ever seen butternut squash soup it kinda looks like baby food. It’s puréed and has like a golden tone to it. It’s weird. Skeptical but knowing my mom is going to make me try it anyways I go ahead and have a spoonful.

First taste and I liked it. The texture was creamy. Almost melted in my mouth kind of way. It was different. I was a very picky eater as a child so this whole experience was new to me.

When I think about squashes, I always think back to this dinner. I had a vivid memory about that night. Having my mother all to myself. Trying something new. And just talking to my mom like an adult. It felt like those dinners you get with your parents when you’re older. Those catch-up dinners where you talk about your career and how life is going.

As I grow older, I look forward to having these dinners with my mom. I’ve always been appreciative of my mom but it grows every year. I’m not even thirty yet and I feel like my life is going too fast. But I’m sure my mom will be ready with all her new stories and adventures about my father driving her crazy. And I’ll listen to it all over a bowl of butternut squash soup.

In case you can’t listen to my audio file, another audio version of the story can be found here.