Dear Crabby,
My wife always insists on making this meatloaf that she had growing up, but it tastes nothing like my mother’s! I have tried to ask her to make my mother’s version, but she only does so once in a while and usually very begrudgingly. What should I do?
Sincerely, Ma Mazboy
Dear Mr. Mazboy,
Well, I’m pretty sure you are not the first person to have that conversation in your house. As a matter of fact, I had the same conversation with my wife many moons ago. These talks usually end poorly for the husband, and the result is always the same – they continue to make the meatloaf they grew up eating. I used to relish it when my mom would make her version of meatloaf at holidays or just because. Sometimes, she would even make it and bring it to me as a treat, mostly because she knew my wife made me eat that other stuff. One day, I asked her why her meatloaf was so much better than my wife’s. She smiled and said it wasn’t
actually her meatloaf. I was shocked! When I asked her to explain, she said that when she got married, she made the meatloaf she grew up with, but my father would not accept it. So, she asked her mother-in-law to teach her how to make the other kind instead. I was so excited, I hurried home to tell Mrs. Crabby the great news about how she still had time to change her meatloaf, just like my own mother had done. The conversation didn’t go exactly like I had pictured in my head. I still don’t remember exactly what all Mrs. Crabby said, but it was something about where I could put my grandmother’s meatloaf and how everyone else could kiss her grits. That reminded me that her grits actually weren’t that good compared to my mom’s either, but something inside me told me that she didn’t really feel up to receiving more help from me that day. So, for the most part, I just tried to learn to like her new version of meatloaf. But one thing is for sure – it’s not my mother’s meatloaf! Well, I hope that helps, and good luck.
Sincerely, Dear Crabby
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