Hearts Then & Now

In honor of that one holiday that happened yesterday, a memory of my mom:

Artichokes look creepy. Naturally, the first time I saw my mom eating one, I was uninterested. Suckin' on an olive leaf? No thanks. But, I was curious enough to try it. And, of course, because artichokes are heavenly, I dug it. My mom quartered the heart (which is very obviously the best part), and I ate a piece. Then I ate a second. And then the third. My mom only had the initial little chunk.

From then on, when my mom would eat artichokes, I would abstain from sharing until she got to the heart. Then, I'd suddenly pounce and gobble the whole thing. Yup. I left my own mom for dead in the veggie game, but she just chuckled.

Last night Pookie and I took AStanSr out to a nice seafood dinner. I obvi didn't get any fish, but I did order a grilled artichoke. When I got to the heart, I offered it to my mom. She thanked me but said she could only deprive me of half at most.