For the "Grater" Cheese

One thing about me that most people don't know is that I haven't always been the magnificent chef I am now. :) When I was little, I would watch my mother and sister cook and bake to their hearts content. I would watch on, but with little interest. I did, however, enjoy in the final product.

So, being that I was never interested in cooking, I was given the remedial duties such as peeling potatoes, washing dishes, and my least favorite, grating the cheese. To this day, I don't know what it is about grating cheese that, well, grates on me. Maybe it was the sore hand and arm muscles inflicted in grating enough cheese for a family of 7 (3 of which were teenage boys) or maybe because grating cheese made me feel like a second class citizen in the kitchen. But for whatever reason, the fact remains: I hate grating cheese!

Well, the other day I was making my favorite comfort meal, tuna casserole. It's my mother's recipe and when I'm missing home, I need to make it. So there I am, getting everything ready and the baby starts to cry. I'm running out of time so I look over at my 8 year old and say, "Will you please grate the cheese for dinner?" He looks at me and answers with an enthusiastic, 'Yes!" He gladly grates all the cheese, I thank him, and he walks away happy as a clam. And then it dawns on me: I never have to grate cheese again! Now I have children old enough who can do the dreaded job for me and now it's my turn to create in them their own grating issues.