Guest author: Carol O’Dell
Website: Carol O’Dell
Chicken Stew (excerpt from my book, Mothering Mother: A Daughter’s Humorous and Heartbreaking Memoir)
I’m making chicken stew tonight. I need something homey, for the house to smell inviting. Maybe my mother, who has Parkinson’s and isn’t doing well, will take a few sips. I put the chicken breasts, chopped onion, and garlic in Mother’s cast iron stew pot that was probably her mother’s. I throw in salt, a pinch of sugar, fresh oregano and sage. It’s just like she taught me. I crack the lid and let the mixture come to a boil. It simmers for three hours, filling the place with memories. I do the laundry, sit with Mother, fold clothes, read Mother the twenty-third Psalm, make a few phones calls, waiting to feed her, hoping she’ll rouse.