The Good Spoon
Is it odd to have a favorite spoon? (Don’t answer that!)
When I was growing up, my mother’s everyday silverware drawer was filled with a mismatched array of spoons, forks, and butter knives. Some were probably purchased when she worked for the hardware store before she met my father. I think others came from various detergents or other home products that used to include things like silverware and glassware in their boxes. I remember thinking that some of them just tasted “old” and I always tried to avoid them. I guess that’s why it didn’t bother me to be the one setting the table.
But in that mix of teaspoons and serving spoons were two round spoons. To me, these were the GOOD SPOONS. They fit your mouth so much more comfortably when eating Captain Crunch, Honeycombs, Sugar Smacks, and Fruit Loops. (Now don’t think my mother allowed us to eat cereal on any day but Sunday; all other days we were served eggs, bacon, and toast.) And on those cold mornings when we were forced to eat Cream O’ Wheat, the good spoons worked well to get it down quickly without having to taste it. But they worked best on ice cream!
But as I recall, there were only TWO good spoons and there were SIX of us. Life was not always fair.
Fast forward 30 years and I had sons of my own. On trips to my parents’ house, I would pull them into the kitchen, pry open the silverware drawer between the sink and stove, and give them an education in silverware. It was for their benefit and survival. (Kind of like rule number 347: Never take the top plate.)
When my sons neared their teenage years, they (along with Jenni) found a set of six “good spoons” and gave them to me as a Christmas gift. It was one of the best Christmases ever!
Eventually we found another set that had a little more weight to them which I find is important in a spoon. So now we have two classes of good spoons in our house. Our sons’ inheritance will be rich indeed.
But are you ready for the best part of the story?
A while back as my siblings and I cleaned out my parents’ house the everyday silverware drawer was dumped into a donation box. A second glance revealed two of the original GOOD SPOONS! Those two spoons now reside in our campervan Wanda.
I can’t imagine having soup, cereal, grits, or ice cream without the benefit of a GOOD SPOON.
We too had “good spoons”. Thanks for the read and the memory David.❤
Loved this story, Dave! I know just how you feel as I have a “good” spoon of my own! One Christmas, my mother-in-law gave me an open-faced cellophane wrapped box containing Campbell’s soup products. (You have probably seen things like this displayed near the entrance of your favorite Walmart.). Along with a couple of packages of their new powdered “instant” soups that you could make quickly with a cup of water and a microwave, the box included a large soup mug sporting a picture of the Campbell’s girl in her chef’s hat and a hefty rounded soup spoon with a red plastic covered handle labeled with the company name. That must have been at least 40 years ago. While in subsequent years I received many gifts from her that were certainly of more monetary or sentimental value, the Campbell’s spoon and soup mug have endured the test of time. In the slot in my silverware drawer set aside for one of a kind silverware such as baby spoons, the Davy Crockett spoon from my childhood and the Care Bear spoons from the 1980’s when my children were born, my bright, red handled utensil is my spoon of choice for not only soup but cereal, rice, ice cream and slippery fruit. What I at the time felt was a very odd Christmas gift has turned out to be one of the most useful and most loved that I ever received! It brings me joy 🙂
Loved this story, Dave! I know just how you feel as I have a “good” spoon of my own! One Christmas, my mother-in-law gave me an open-faced cellophane wrapped box containing Campbell’s soup products. (You have probably seen things like this displayed near the entrance of your favorite Walmart.). Along with a couple of packages of their new powdered “instant” soups that you could make quickly with a cup of water and a microwave, the box included a large soup mug sporting a picture of the Campbell’s girl in her chef’s hat and a hefty rounded soup spoon with a red plastic covered handle labeled with the company name. That must have been at least 40 years ago. While in subsequent years I received many gifts from her that were certainly of more monetary or sentimental value, the Campbell’s spoon and soup mug have endured the test of time. In the slot in my silverware drawer set aside for one of a kind silverware such as baby spoons, the Davy Crockett spoon from my childhood and the Care Bear spoons from the 1980’s when my children were born, my bright, red handled utensil is my spoon of choice for not only soup but cereal, rice, ice cream and slippery fruit. What I at the time felt was a very odd Christmas gift has turned out to be one of the most useful and most loved that I ever received! I brings me joy 🙂
Loved this story, Dave! I know just how you feel as I have a “good” spoon of my own! One Christmas, my mother-in-law gave me an open-faced cellophane wrapped box containing Campbell’s soup products. (You have probably seen things like this displayed near the entrance of your favorite Walmart.). Along with a couple of packages of their new powdered “instant” soups that you could make quickly with a cup of water and a microwave, the box included a large soup mug sporting a picture of the Campbell’s girl in her chef’s hat and a hefty rounded soup spoon with a red plastic covered handle labeled with the company name. That must have been at least 40 years ago. While in subsequent years I received many gifts from her that were certainly of more monetary or sentimental value, the Campbell’s spoon and soup mug have endured the test of time. In the slot in my silverware drawer set aside for one of a kind silverware such as baby spoons, the Davy Crockett spoon from my childhood and the Care Bear spoons from the 1980’s when my children were born, my bright, red handled utensil is my spoon of choice for not only soup but cereal, rice, ice cream and slippery fruit. What I at the time felt was a very odd Christmas gift has turned out to be one of the most useful and most loved that I ever received! I brings me joy 🙂