The Green Bean Incident…..

Anyone else happy to have kids go back to school?  Geeze!   My house is a mess.  I’m wondering why the dishes can make it to the kitchen sink but not the dishwasher……and why when I ask certain housemates of mine  (teenagers) to put things away, they simply circulate from the table, to the desk, to the hutch and back to the table….and why does the soap dispenser in the bathroom remain empty until I fill it when the refill bottle is right below the sink?  My biggest and most important question:  Why do we close the back door in mild weather and we continue to walk outside, leaving it open in 7 degree weather?

If nothing else, I get to vent into cyberspace, maybe the universe will hear me.

I must tell you about my Mom and “the green bean incident.”  At the time, it was not funny.  After the “incident,” she went to my Grandma’s house.  Being kids, we were worried she might not want to come back, given our behavior that day.    It’s funny how so many of my memories surround this vegetable.

My Mom was a machine, she cooked, cleaned, canned, gardened, and contended with 5 of us “hunyocks” all day, everyday.    My Dad, who is a very gentle soul,  would arrive home from work at about 5:00 p.m. and liked so sit down for dinner by 5:30 p.m. 

It was a hot summer day, and Mom was rushing to finish up cooking dinner and proceeded to serve the green beans aldente; my Dad liked his green beans “cooked.”    We sat down to dinner and my Dad, completely unaware of her chaotic day, made a comment about the green beans….”they’re not done.”  Well, this tiny comment ignited a fury I’d never seen in my Mother.  She calmly said, “they’re not done….the green beans aren’t done……really.”  She calmly stood up, picked up the pot of green beans, walked to the back door and with the force of what seemed to be a rocket launcher, propelled every last green bean across the back yard.  Can you imagine how great that felt?  All that pent up aggravation with all of us, the humidity, and the last straw, a complaint….what a release!  We could write a book, forget about yoga, deep breathing, or even meditation. We could call it “The Green Bean Release,”  or  “Green Beans for the Soul.”   Just fling the green beans.  Yes, that’s good.

I must say, we don’t ever truly understand our parents until we’ve lived a little.  I sooooo get it now!

Have a wonderful evening.  School tomorrow.  Sweet dreams!

Angie

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Comments

  1. Love the story! I'm happy you can laugh about it now, I think my kids might have one or two similar stories to tell some day 🙂

  2. Angie Montroy says

    What else would be discussed at future holiday dinners?