Maybe it's the time of year or maybe I have been looking at too many old photo albums lately but I sometimes smile and other times feel sad when I look at my family's lives from the 1950's and 60's. Yes, it was a simpler time and yes, we spent a lot of time with family. We always felt loved even when we were disciplined.
The holidays brought so much cooking activity to the kitchen with plans for what had to be done each day in preparation. My grandmother did much of the Italian cooking at home. She would bring these huge pots on Sunday with the gravy and meat. We children were expected to help out with cleaning chores beforehand and then setting the table for the big day, serving our aunts and uncles and then washing all the dishes and pots. Our house was the center of most of the activity, since my parents had the most children, five to be exact. I always marvel that our home wasn't the largest, nor the most beautiful but it was the gathering place.
I have to say I did not like all the work but I enjoyed the fact that we would all be together.
My mother, who was ahead of her time, bought a dishwasher in the 60's , when no one had one. Her motive was to lessen the load for my sister and me as we were the dishwashers on holidays and every Sunday. It was a big help to us.
Those get-togethers were full of laughter and family talk. We children were expected to keep silent about what the adults spoke about. Always the eavesdropper, I listened intently and did keep it to myself. We were too busy anyway to say too much as we were the oldest of all the cousins and working in the kitchen serving and cleaning up.
Still, I have fond memories of these meals. Some sort of pasta was the first course along with meat balls and bracciole. Then a roast and potatoes was served with a large salad. Mom always made her own dressing of a mixture of olive oil and wine vinegar, sometimes too strong. Then the desserts and coffee were laid on the table, usually from a bakery that one of my aunts and uncles brought. Espresso was brewed on holidays in those tiny cups and served with zambucca.
The other interesting picture in the albums were of birthday sheet cake. It seems that in a big family there were almost always a birthday to be celebrated. No one was ever forgotten.
When I was in the later years of high school, I kept asking my mother if we could change the time of these dinners so I could go to the beach with my friends. My grandfather had a strict rule that dinner was always @ 1:00 PM on Sunday after Mass. He did not want to budge but my mother prevailed and it was changed during the summer. I felt blessed because my grandfather set certain rules so this was a small victory and I don't know how my mother was able to persuade him! But it worked.
