I was craving French Onion Soup last night. I think it is because the weather is colder and it always reminds me of one of my earliest reenactment memories. It was the Feast of the Hunter's Moon at Fort Quiatanon on the Quabashe River in Lafayette, Indiana. Smoke fires and Indian Lodges and drums, drums in the night. And giant cast iron pots of steaming French onion soup boiling over an open wood fire on a tripod.
My Cousin was just telling me about how wrong it is these days that kids tell their PARENTS what the family will be doing. Instead of the other way around like when we were kids. These days, it's all kid-centric. Family Vacations must be Water World or Disneyland because it has to be All About Entertaining the Children. God Forbid we don't Schedule an Activity for every moment of their little lives! God Forbid the Adults get to have an Adult Excursion and just drag the kids along so they might Learn Something!
Here is a quote from my cousin:
As a Child, I went wherever my parents Took Me. Didn't you? I mean, we were always packing up and going to the Sunday Rodeo over in Albion, or taking the horses camping, or going to the racetrack in Michigan with Uncle Bob's racehorse. We always had a bunch over for 'whatever' to eat on Sundays--barbecues in the summer, chili over a woodfire on the ice in wintertime, when the guys all got to race in their cars around the lake! I just remember all the fun and high gig there was just hanging around with my own folks. We knew interesting people.
I realized that I got most of what I know and love from those times I followed my family around. I don't think it is supposed to be the other way. How do today's kids know who to be like? How do they know what they want to be? Their parents are so busy following them around, busy reliving their own childhoods!
In our day it was pretty much All About Our Parents, when you think about it. Somehow I get the feeling that people on both sides of the soccer field are missing out on that.
Well, I really agree with my cousin! My dad built and sailed iceboats, and we went along for the day. He crewed for a motorcycle race team, and we went along to all the race weekends. He and Mom had matching Honda motorcycles and a gang of friends who went for day trips up to Mongo and the Elkhart River, and we rode on the back of the bikes and ate salty dried mushrooms out of jars from little wayside General Stores. The list is almost endless! I was exposed to all kinds of people and all kinds of lifestyles and philosophies. It was a rich and rewarding heritage and I dearly love those memories.
Today, life seems to be about ferrying your children to their next sporting event. How did we lose our focus? Especially since teaching our children to be competitive little monsters has not really taught them to be decent human beings.
The Feast of the Hunter's Moon and going places with your Parents and playing with whatever you found and whomever you met along the way...well, it just doesn't get any better than that.
So I whipped up a big pot of French Onion soup and here's my Memory Breakfast! French Onion Soup!
5 comments:
Miss Pink, what a lovely lot of bags you are making makes my skill pale to your wonderful art work at crafting.
I have never had french onion soup for breakfast but are willing to try it as "I LOVE THE STUFF"
yours looks delish! I must send you my very quick and easy recipe my sister gave me a long time ago and it is a winner.
See you around again real soon have a great evening.
Lee-ann
The soup looks delish! Never had it for breakfast though.
Oh great, your first comment is a SPAM one...grrrrr, don't you just hate those??!! Anyway...loved your post and I agree with you, today's parents tend to let their kids decide what to do and where to go...I don't recall EVER having that priviledge when I was growing up. We just followed! And if we didn't like it, TOUGH! lol I've only had French Onion Soup once and remember it being quite good...my youngest brother Guy had made it when we were visiting my mom's place on the lake a few years ago. Hugs xox
True Confession: The French Onion Soup wasn't actually planned to be for breakfast, but it smelled so good and I was starving!
Love French Onion soup - breakfast sounds fine to me.
One of the most wonderful holidays I had was when my parents took us camping to the beach. There I met another girl my age (about 6) and we spent all day rock fishing and playing in the sand, going to either her folks' tent or mine when we were hungry. We kept in touch for a number of years and then, I guess life (our parents') got in the way and we lost touch. But I have never forgotten that summer holiday.
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