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My Mother Hoards Food
When I was a kid, everyone wanted to hang out at my house.
I’d like to think it was because I was cool, but I always knew better. It was all the treats and snacks my mom kept in the house.
Growing up, there were jars and baskets of every favorite food: Twinkies piled high. Candy bars haphazardly scattered like every day was Halloween. Bags and bags of chips in the pantry.
My friends would come over after school and settle in with their favorite foods. While we watched TV or played the Atari, my mom would come home from work and start fretting that no on had eaten dinner yet. She would then whip together a huge buffet with items like sloppy joes, Hamburger Helper, spaghetti, and whatever she could get on the table in 45 minutes or less.
It seemed like a comforting paradise, where a sweet, middle-aged school teacher doted on all the neighborhood kids and looked after them.
But I knew the truth.
My mom was obsessed with food.
Secrets of the Pantry
To this day, every holiday is an avalanche of food. She spends three days preparing for a Thanksgiving feast for nine people. There are always at least 13 pies, not to mention cookies and a couple of cakes. Again, for nine people.