Mama’s Soup… by JoAnn

When I was growing up, one of the most wonderful smells ever to fill our home was when Mama made her homemade veggie soup. The recipe was a simple one. But the ingredients, when brought together, made for the most aromatic dish Mama made.

My mother was an excellent country cook. She could take nothing and make something tasty out of it. So it was no surprise that her soup was also good. But there was something about that smell. It could be the fact that the time of the year she would make her first pot of soup was at the beginning of Fall. When the temperatures dropped, the sky was cloudy, and a chilly breeze bit just a little when it hit your face. Gone was Summer, and Winter was on the way. Getting home from school and walking into the aroma of Mama’s soup on the stove. It always warmed the heart as much as it warmed the belly.

You could bet on it that everyone was sitting at the dinner table come 5 o’clock. And that each of us would ask for a second bowl. Crispy saltines were crumbled with joy. The only bad thing was the wait for a spoonful to cool down before eating.

I have such wonderful memories of family gathered around the dinner table, enjoying a home-cooked meal together. I tried to share those memories with my daughters and made Mama’s soup for them. I taught each how to make it, too. Something so simple but packed with such a punch. A punch of love. That could be what made Mama’s soup so good. It was the love she added that made all the other ingredients work.

I decided to make a pot of soup today, but it wasn’t Mama’s recipe. I felt like trying something new, as I sometimes do. It is tasty and filled my belly. But something was missing. It wasn’t Mama’s soup! There isn’t a substitute. I was foolish to try. Sorry, Mama.