A Glorious Opportunity to Play a Stereotypical Jewish Mother

Last week, my youngest son, Jesse, came home to handle some "business" and begin his West Coast tour with his and another band. For the first few days, it was only Jesse with his bandmates from Town Hall (folk music; quite a distance from Jesse's previous main band - Witt - which played "Math Rock"), and on Friday the second band, The Relatives, arrived. Almost all of them attend NYU together, which is where they hooked up.

It was so great having a full house of such nice kids who are so easy to talk to. They didn't treat me like I was from another generation or another planet, and I really enjoyed their company.

And I got to be a stereotypical Jewish mother (except that I don't dispense guilt) for a few days, constantly feeding them, which college kids on a budget really like. As they are all vegetarian, we had pancakes, french toast, waffles, bagels and fruit for breakfast; quinoa-black bean salad, lentil salad, tomato-mozzarella salad and sourdough baguette for lunch. One night I took them out to dinner at a fantastic San Diego vegetarian restaurant -- Spread -- which we all enjoyed a lot; another night they went out on their own; and the final night I made Jesse's favorite pasta dish, which went over well with everyone: Penne, feta and broccoli, with an herb salad, garlic bread, and any extra tomato-mozzarella salad. I would have made pots de creme for dessert but my stove broke the first morning everyone was here, which eliminated pancakes and french toast but allowed for waffles.

As I kept bringing out platter after platter of food, they all said that I didn't need to do so much for them, that any one dish would have made a great meal, but Jesse explained that he and his brother didn't eat breakfast or let me cook for them once they had their drivers' licenses, so this was all the pent-up cooking I had wanted to do for several years (he knows me well).

When they finally had to leave to continue their tour , which began in San Diego (with the special, surprise appearance of Witt), I was prepared with cases of water, Pellegrino water with orange and lemon, and Squirt (a future corporate sponsor of the band); a case of granola bars, a case of fruit cups, dehydrated fruit, cheezits (which was by special request), pop chips, red licorice, and several more things I can't remember. Jesse can't asking me to stop because the cars were so full, what with having to accommodate people, luggage, and band gear, but a few of the kids helped me fit more stuff into each crevice of the car. A few cans of Squirt remain at home for Jesse's stopover at the end of the tour before he returns to NY.

Once they left, I was still on a high from having them, but the exhaustion also caught up with me. Thank goodness my dishwasher, which never in its life ran 4 loads a day, held up.

I hope they come back through San Diego again. I'm already planning meals for their next visit.