“Fondest Memory”
Grandparents Wero
Sleepover at Nana and Papa’s is always adventurous but is more memorable for Nana’s signature breakfast. She’d get up super early and put on a pot of oats and water. Stir the pot till the oats soak up all the water and what you’re left with, is a thick gluggy consistency that looks like paste.
With her cheerful face and sweet tone, she called out to us “Breakfast is ready, help yourself my moko’s” pointing to a pot sitting on a wooden board on the table next to a stack of cereal bowls.
I remember propping my 6 year old body up over the table and peering into the pot for the very first time, scanning my eyes sideways at TJ and thinking “What the heck is this?! It looks like sludge! Where’s the milk?! Where’s the cream and sugar?!” Then looking at the end of the table and seeing my Dad giggling. I was confused, is this a joke?
My Nana, proud as, added “You’ll love it my moko, dig in before it’s all gone.”
I was raised to respect my elders, be grateful for what I have and eat what I’m given or go without. So with shaky hands, I dug in and scooped a spoonful into my bowl.
“Don’t be shy my boy, this stuff makes you big and strong” My Nana insisted with concerning eyes as she dalloped another scoop into my bowl.
I don’t know how, but I polished my bowl, despite the efforts of my Nana continuing to top me up. I quickly learnt that she only tops me up, if she sees that my bowl is empty, so I ate slower. Each mouthful was getting harder and harder to swallow. I knew it wasn’t a joke when I saw my Dad and Papa eating it too. I felt like we were all pulling the same facials.
Later, when I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth, my Dad came in and said
“Yeah, sorry son. I forgot to warn you about Nana’s jail porridge. But I’m proud as of you for sucking it up and not turning it into a big deal. Your the first moko to not turn your nose up at it, so I’m pretty sure you’re Nana’s favourite now. You kicked your Uncle Midge off his perch.”
I can’t enter this writing piece into the school leader wero because it’s exceeds the word count limit by A LOT but I had fun remembering this and thought it was worth a blog post.
Thank you for sharing this great memory Cruze, you say that you were taught to be respectful and this is something you show everyday. Even as a young person you had a sense of how to treat people with the respect they deserve, this character trait of yours is what keeps you striving forward. I thought it was funny when Dad said you have knocked your Uncle of the perch!
ReplyDeleteGood job Cruze
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