04/28/2022
๐ผ ๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ค๐ช๐ฉ ๐ข๐:
Thought ๐ค of the dayโฆ
This morning I brought my little guy with me into Tim Hortons to pick out a treat and sit and wait for the tires to be rotated on the car.
He picked birthday cake Tim-bits, which Iโm starting to recognize seems to be a fave for him and I had one of my favourite breakfasts, the farmers wrap.
As I sat there enjoying both our fast food faves, I looked around at the absolutely packed Tim Hortons and recognized that everyone around us was probably munching down their favourite too.
Then a memory, or several came into mind. It was memories of being a teen and experiencing fast food joints literally for the first time with my peers. I remember them quickly ordering their fave while I struggled to know what to try and often would just get what they where having.
I think it is fair to say that I lived a pretty sheltered life growing up. I grew up in a small town in Saskatchewan called Debden. The city was an hour away which now a days, seems so close but back in my time growing up my parents didnโt have the most reliable vehicles and money was tight so making the trip to the big city did not come that often. Some of my memories of making trips was for a big groceries trip. Sometimes we got to go, sometimes we got left behind, god knows mom deserved the break! She did have 4 of us. I got to go more often then my siblings at one point for dentist trips for my braces, however with those few trip, at the most maybe once a month and when I was younger maybe 1 or 2 times a year, I can honestly say mom rarely treated us to fast food.
Most memories are of us sitting down at a nice restaurant, the Venus House eating Lasagna, or Lemon Chicken, or Picking up Pizza. There where times that we would pick up a box of Kentucky Fried Chicken, because this was one of dads faves but I can honestly say that I have very few memories growing up going to any fast food joint.
As a teen I resented my mom for this. My lack of confidence had me feeling like an outcast when my peers knew what they wanted at the till and I had no clue but now I look back and have so much gratitude for the values and eating habits that my parents instilled in me.
Although we grew up with not a whole lot we where given some of the best life lessons. My dad hunted every year to put meat in the freezer. When I was a teen I joined him on a few hunts and experienced a few kills both with Gun and Bow. Although Iโm grateful for both experiences as they both taught me something, I have so much respect for Bow hunting as it requires you to get a lot closer to the animal, to get a good shot and it is obviously a lot quieter and more peaceful experience. I grew up on moose,elk and deer meat. My mom learnt how to cook with these gamey flavours, and past that knowledge down to us kids.
My mom also grew a garden, so large that we would sell potatoes in the fall. We grew up on my grandparents old house on about 2 acres and us kids where required to help out wherever we could. We learnt from a pretty early age to do the dishes, do the laundry, help out with the grass and garden.
We had camp fires almost every night throughout the summer. This was one of my fondest memories.
It was easy for me to be resentful of what I didnโt have at the time but now I look back and realize that I really wasnโt missing out on anything, and that not having a fave at any fast food joint was not something to be ashamed of rather something to be proud of.
You did good mom and dad, thank you for all the lessons.
