Little Hands

Little hands working along side us in the kitchen are such a precious thing. Young nieces and nephews helping by stirring the herbs and seasonings into the tomato sauce, kneading the pizza dough, rolling the bread dough into a loaf, peeling boiled eggs, unfolding and flouring the homemade egg noodles, and helping wash and dry the dishes, is so special. Although little and not usually knowing what they are doing, the experience is amusing and very endearing.

We often pull over a chair for them to stand on or sit them on the counter. Once, I even put my one-year-old niece, Milania, in a short-sided crate on the countertop for extra safety. She was delighted playing with the measuring spoons.

Adorned in my apron, my little sidekicks want to wear one, too. We make it work by folding the “huge” apron waist up and wrapping the strings multiple times around their little belly. They love it and they look so adorable!

There are comical times when my nieces and nephews eat something they wished they hadn’t! I gave Titus fair warning that a slice of the raw onion would not taste very good, but he insisted upon eating one. The onion went out almost as fast as it had gone in! Another time, while making brownies, Galilee wanted to know what baking powder tasted like. I told her it was yucky, and the next moment her face had the wryest expression! She had licked the spoon I used to measure the baking powder!

My little helpers know that when we make a mess, we clean it up. Mama says, “laundry’s not done till it’s dried, folded, and put away.” The same goes for cooking, since the dishes need to be washed, dried, and put away. When I am in the kitchen with little ones, we make the dishes an enjoyable job. They are fun! 

We pull over a chair, roll up our sleeves, put a towel on, and get started. Often, I grab a few fun dishes like a funnel, tongs, a small colander, or some measuring spoons and turn the water on so it drips. Little guys will play for a surprisingly long time! I love to watch them play.

Sometimes, it is easier for me to do the job by myself, but the pride, joy, laughter and smiles the little hands have over their pile of clean dishes, or a delicious batch of chocolate chip cookies is worth the extra time spent. They are learning so much, and we are making such good memories. 

Oh, an eager finger might make its way to the bowl, the bread possibly has a few little holes, and someone might have a soaking wet shirt from washing dishes, but it was well worth it! They had fun and have worked for something to be proud of, gained some experience. . . and that tastes good, too!

~Jayla