Once upon a time…I was married into a delightful family…it was a family steeped in rich traditions…filled with love and laughter most of the time…but…sometimes…as with all families…things would go awry…this is an account of one such incident…it is with love and humor that I present…
The Great Sweet Potato Revolt of 1981
I was minding my own business…but then again…that’s usually when I get in the most trouble…I was simply a young wife and mother…looking for creative, delicious ways to cook my husband’s favorite food…sweet potatoes…
Unfortunately for me…I found them…in fact…he used to call me his Sweet Potato Queen…way before the books came out…I promise…but…I digress…
We rocked along just fine for a while…enjoying several palate tempting sweet potato creations…it was marital bliss…until that fated Thanksgiving 1981…
We always did Thanksgiving with his family…and this year his Mother was quite ill…so she decided to farm out some of her traditional dishes to the lesser cooks in the family…AKA…me…so in addition to my customary deviled eggs…I was given the sweet potato assignment…including the precise recipe to follow…
No problem…I could do that…except for hubby…over the years…sitting at our dinner table…smacking his lips…he had crossed an invisible line…the line that dreams and nightmares are made of…he liked mine better than his Mama’s…and he chose now to share this with his family…
I tried to talk reason with him…but…no…he told his Mama that I would be bringing my recipe for the holidays…
The Revolt had started…Ma Bell’s lines were abuzz with sisters and sister-in-laws calling…did you hear that Jane…get that…it was now Jane who wanted to do this…that Jane wants to bring her sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving instead of Mama’s…
I’m sure there were a lot of things said…the gist of which was…she’s trying to ruin Thanksgiving!
And so it went…lines were drawn…confrontation followed…b-b-b-u-u-u-t-t-t…was about all I ever got to say…and the day was drawing closer…hubby continued to insist on his way…Mama on hers…I caved…for the only Thanksgiving in their family history…we had two sweet potato dishes…HIS and HERS…
I don’t think Mama tried the imposters…although…some of the rest of them did…but that really wasn’t the important thing…the important thing is…I had broken their tradition…whether I had done so maliciously or not…I had done it…
Mama passed away the next summer…probably without ever forgiving me...I didn’t really understand that at the time…but…the older I get…the more I understand about tradition…and family…and just trying to keep things the way they have been…when everything is changing…
Jane
