Mom's Grocery Lists
an envelope filled with magic...
If you’re wondering where my love for handwriting came from, it was from my Mom! She went to Catholic school and learned penmanship & cursive from the nuns. She had such distinct handwriting and I looooved watching her write. Bev was a Capricorn and I read somewhere a long time ago that not only do Capricorns thrive on organized chaos, but they’re also avid list makers.
I suppose that’s where my love for lists comes from…
This is my Mom’s last grocery list. She went to Costco the night before she was rushed to the hospital. I found it in her purse when while looking for her wallet in the ER. We found the groceries in the back of her car a few days after she died. She stocked my Dad up before she left.
Seeing the Cheerio made me giggle. I wonder what that last C was…
After she died, I stumbled into A LOT OF her lists while I was cleaning out her kitchen. Most of them were in were in old recycled notebooks (from my childhood!) and a bunch of scrap paper/charity notepads she got in the mail. I shoved them all in an envelope for safekeeping and I look at them every now and then when I need a “hit” of her.
I look at them now with a few observations.
What was she making?
What was her week like?
How many charities did she donate to get all of this schwag?
There’s no denying that Bev loved Costco. Even after all of the kids left the house, she still shopped there for her and my Dad. I love that she bought herself flowers (roses!) every time she went. It brought her so much joy.
I like to imagine the things she was making. Was this for a party? She loved lamb chops (especially Ina Garten’s!). I think she was definitely making her pasta fagioli based on this list. What does veg refer to? Vegetables? What did that include?!
My Mom never bought flour tortillas so this one stumped me! She also forgot to cross the tt in lettuce. I am imagining her making French toast with this list. Maybe she was making tacos?
I know she was making her mushroom wild rice with this list! It made me laugh because I also have a hard time figuring out how to spell teriyaki. There’s veg again! Also… I quite like the t in meat.
I can only imagine that she was making her Lemon Chicken… but bologna?!! That’s a wild card. I never saw bologna in her fridge since I was a kid!
On the back of that list, there was ANOTHER list!
This was her invite list for Christmas many many MANY years ago. It made me happy to see Tracy & Casey first. She always knew we’d be at her table for the holidays. :)
If my Mom was around, she would point out how many people on that list are no longer around. I suppose that’s my job now.
8 /16 are gone. Wow.
This one looks like a dessert but then there are green beans thrown into the mix! Man, she really did like green beans.
MOM!?? What were you making??! I’ll never know, but I sure do love guessing.
This is such a simple and beautiful tribute to your mother. I lost my husband a little more than a year ago and finding little things of his stuck here and there can be such a comfort. Grief can be strange and scary, but sometimes lovely.
I stumbled upon this today after listening to "The First Year" episode of #keepgriefweird. This post, all by itself, is such a remarkable example of how you've kept Bev's memory alive. It's so beautiful to see her lists and how you're considering what she was making, why some items were on her list when you don't remember her having those in the home, and just how intimate of a memory even a grocery list can be. You did that, Tracy! I'm touched about how you noticed what she'd note about the family list, and indicated how many are still living. Again, so intimate and beautiful to stay that connected. Y'all are doing a fabulous job on the podcast. <3