A cast iron skillet.
This was my dad’s skillet…
When he passed in 2007 this was one of the treasures that became mine.
I remember the dishes he made in the skillet…think breakfast gravy! I remember him showing me how you care for a cast iron skillet and how well food cooks in it. He used this skillet for years, and now it is mine.
When my step-mother gave me the skillet, to be honest, I wasn’t thrilled. I had longed to have the bible he used daily; it has belonged to my great-grandfather. So the skillet spent more than a year in the cupboard.
When I finally took it out for the first time I was amazed that it didn’t have any rust. My dad had seasoned it well and my lack of use hadn’t ruined that. At first I used it only sparingly. But the more I used it, the more I loved using it.
Each day I season it, just as he taught me, with bacon grease. I cook up our eggs for breakfast and it connects me to him. Such a small thing but amazingly important to me now. I think he’d be happy to know his skillet is loved, used and appreciated.
I am so thankful my step-mother knew that this was the right treasure of his to give to me; even though I didn’t know it myself.
When the people we love leave are taken from the world, it is a gift beyond measure to have a daily reminder of them. Something so simple as a much-loved skillet can keep them ever-present in our days, in our lives.
It isn’t the only gift my father shared with me – he would be so proud of my garden. But that is story for a different day…