Don’t Yuck My Yum!

I love a lot of things. One thing I love for sure is food. Whenever I am invited out to have a drink, brunch or dinner I run right to that website and look at the menu. Cause one thing I am not about to do is NOT have a good meal or drink. I want to know the rating and cost so I know exactly what I am getting. Call it prepared, call it Type A, whatever you call it I am going to enjoy the food.

So it should no surprise that Thanksgiving holiday is one of my favorite holidays. To have the family to laugh, gather, make memories most of all most of al my mama’s cooking. The entire house waiting for every dish my mama made ready to make our plates. It’s not Thanksgiving without her dishes on the table. As a family unit we only want our mama’s cooking on the table during this time we don’t need any nasty dishes present.

Over the years as a pastor’s kid my dad’s parishioners would bring a dish for him or my mom. This could be the reason why I am often apprehensive on eating from everyone’s table. You never know how people keep their homes/ kitchens, if they are washing their hands or letting the cat walk on the counter. There are a few of my dad’s parishioners who I would actually trust their food, trust them so much we would request their dish to be apart of our family thanksgiving dinner.

So this year we requested hot water cornbread to be apart of our Thanksgiving dinner from one of the members from the church. Now if you are here then you should know what hot water cornbread is no need in explaining what it is right? I want to point out that we have a mixed family with different cultural backgrounds, so our taste palettes can differ a lot between us all.

On round 2 of getting my plate, it was greens and hot water cornbread with hot sauce, no utensils just my hands, it’s the best way to eat it. I literally tore this up! Who was right next to me? My brother…all you heard was smacking. One of my sister-in-laws didn’t know about this southern delicacy, she must have saw how much me and my brother were enjoying so she wanted to try it.

As stated before this is a southern delicacy that most wouldn’t understand. Not everyone would enjoy this or like it particular dish. After the taste test let’s just say it most certainly is not one of her favorites. Even after I tried to show her how to mash up the cornbread mixing in the greens together eating with my fingers. Whew I can taste it right now!

After the attempts it was clear my sister- in- law didn’t like it and voiced how in her mind it didn’t taste good. I didn’t care if she liked it or not cause let me tell you I kept right on eating. A few minutes later my brother walks in the kitchen saying…”Listen you may not like it, but don’t yuck my yum.” He went on to say that it may not be your thing but for someone else they love it.

This got me to thinking how often this has happened to me, someone trying to yuck my yum. Not just my food choices, life in general. In the instance of my love for Uncle Nearest, when I hear someone saying…”Ohhh whiskey? I can’t even do it, that’s gross.” My thought immediately is please don’t yuck my yum. When I decided this year that I was no longer going to be reaching out first, allowing anything to tear up my peace, I got a few yucks to my yum. In the sense of people telling me all the ways I am wrong. Or reminding me how I should be the bigger person.

While it is so important to not allow anyone Yucking my Yum it is so important that YOU, don’t t yuck anyone else’s yum. You may see things don’t agree. Feel a need to speak on it. Unless it is requested just let people be. We often go too far to provide feedback that wasn’t necessary.

There is no winning when we Yuck the Yum of others. We are better together especially when we allow people to enjoy their yum. Gone head and let me eat my greens and cornbread with my fingers in peace!

Until next time,

Don’t Yuck My Yum!