Friday 7 September 2012

When life is hard, you eat potato skins

I was peeling potatoes to put in the pumpkin soup that we are having for dinner.
And I remembered when I was a child my grandparents (my mothers parents) would visit from The Netherlands and stay for a few weeks. My mother hated peeling potatoes and had read somewhere that the most nutrients were just under the potato skin, so she would just give them a good scrub and rinse.
The first night my grandfather looks at his plate and says "What! are we in the war!" So for the rest of their stay we ate peeled potatoes. You see they lived through the second world war and lived in the city, for part of the war my Pake (my mums father) was in a work camp, when he was temporarily released and was told he would be called to go elsewhere, it was without his Id papers. So for the rest of the war he was hiding and couldn't legally work. My Beppe was a wreak by the end of the war, the negative landlady would tell her everyday "Jan is dead, I'm sure of it, you might as well find yourself a new husband" Each meal was uncertain and nothing was wasted.
My dads parents lived in the country on a farm, so they had better access to meat and veggies, but still nothing was wasted. When the farmers in that region were told they had to give their wheat crops to the Germans and not keep it for themselves, they burnt their crops. My grandparents did help people hide, on their way to another safehouse, these people took risks and life was hard.
My dad was born after the war, he remembers his father coming into the kitchen everyday before lunch and peeling enough potatoes for the family, (my father was one of eleven children) any visitors and all the hired hands that would have lunch with them. The war was over, they were blessed and life is not so tough now, that they had to eat potato skins.
Yesterday Zach went to hospital for dental work, I was anxious about the cost, even though I have extras cover. I worried about so many things, other bills, do I have enough milk, must remember to stop off at chemist for child nurofen, must make sure it's strawberry flavoured.
When I was chopping up the pumpkin and cutting off the skin and removing the seeds, I was thinking what a hassle, but I don't like tinned soup. Then I started peeling those potatoes, I stopped to think, I have a job, I have access to dentists, hospitals, medicine, schooling, supermarkets, electricity, entertainment even. We are blessed, life is not so tough, that I need to eat potato skins and I think my Pake would be happy with that.

Now I am going to enjoy my pumpkin soup, my baby put himself to bed at four and is still sleeping, not fully recovered, but all went well. Thank you for your prayers, Goodnight all x♥x♥

1 comment:

  1. I'm glad it went well. I've been sick... but we must catch up - hope you are okay. I'm always here xxxx

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