Angie:  Mama B, how did you learn to cook?

Bette:  I taught myself what little cooking skills I have. It was a time when you were a toddler and Tina and I were separated.  I wanted you to have a balanced diet, so I started to prepare simple meals with an assortment of vegetables and fruit so that when you were with me, you ate properly.

Angie:  What did you eat prior to that?

Tina:  When we were together, I did the cooking. But when we separated, Bette ate take out mostly. Or she would go to The Planet and have meals with Kit and your aunts. After we got back together, Mama B became an excellent assistant.  She learned how to chop vegetables, peel potatoes, cook pasta and I believe she could do almost everything that I can. She lacks experience in seasoning to taste, but if pushed, she could learn that in no time at all.

Bette:  Cooking is an art form in itself.  Putting meals together that look good and taste good and are nutritious takes experience. But there are a few basic bits of knowledge you need to start with. And we hope that by the time you get to Yale, you will have a base knowledge of foods and nutrition and how to prepare some tasty nutritious meals. And even if you do not use this for years, at least you will have been exposed to it.

Tina:  Every student needs this knowledge. Daniel will know how to cook before he leaves for college as well.

Daniel:  Really?

Bette:  Oh yeah. We want to make sure that you are capable of fending for yourself and can provide balanced meals on a regular basis. Just because you are a male, does not mean you shouldn’t know your way around a kitchen or a grocery store.

Angie smiled. She was beginning to see the value of what her parents were trying to teach her. It was one more step to adulthood and independence. And knowing that they wanted Daniel to have the same skills took away the stigma that this was something only girls should know.

Tina then instructed them on what they should wear for the day and after the breakfast dishes were cleaned and put away, they would be free to do whatever. They should be ready to leave for the day at 10:45. Bette suggested that they eat at the restaurant at the pier of lunch. Then they would go to the doctor’s office for their 1:30 appointment. They would need to be a little early to process the change of address and the insurance cards. Tina needed copies of a bill with their California address on it and included their proper names. This was the last piece of documentation she needed for the Department of Motor Vehicles for all of them.