The rewards of Summertime rules

By Howard E Cummins

columnist

My mother was famous for problem-solving, and the remedy was simple. You followed her rules, and everything would be right with your world. Break her rules, and there would be a penalty.
What were her rules? Well, they depended upon any particular situation, but we were blessed to have a parent that made sure we were always informed before-hand. Of course, some of her rules were common knowledge, especially when it came to our conduct when she was in the middle of cooking. And it was understood that we would make sure all our visiting friends were aware of that day’s rules, especially during the summer when our house seemed to be the magnet for community activities. And especially on Saturday baking days.

Pearl Davis Cummins fed every boy in the neighborhood with her cooking, and every boy knew that Saturday meant the possibility of a freshly baked cake as a treat. My Mother was a professional cook and her meals were anticipated by every friend and family member.

For example, she forbade anyone walking across her clean kitchen floor. Especially when she had placed a large cake pan full to the rim with chocolate cake filling which she had minutes before poured into her prize antique cake pan, a cherished wedding gift from great Aunt Sarah Elizabeth. “Boys, stay outside so that my cake won’t fall!”

We could watch from a distance awaiting the last chocolate liquid as it poured into the large cake pan. It would usually be four brothers and a friend waiting at the kitchen door with our clean spoons ready to “sop” the large container’s very last drops of the rich chocolate. And our treat would most certainly be offered only to those standing patiently on the porch.
On any given summer day, we boys would have spent our time rough- housing in the yard, or walking the Old Road, or climbing on Powell Mountain. We would always be dusty and sweaty and certainly no candidates for entering a clean house just so we could smell the aromas of a freshly baking cake. Rules were rules.

When we were called for the actual meal, we knew that one of her unspoken rules was to always clean up before entering the house. Sometimes that meant giving our hands and arms a good scrub from a washtub full of soapy water. And dusting off and removing our muddy shoes.
We did not have a separate dining room in our house. Every meal was served on a large table that occupied half of the space in the kitchen. Once clean and ready to dine we would assemble around the table but leave the service of the meal to our Mother. An important rule was that she did not want anyone near her stove, or in her way. She was the Queen of her kitchen, and woe be the family member or guest who forgot.

Summer, Fall, Winter or Spring, her meals were always the highlight of each day. But there is something about those summer meals that brings a special memory. Especially those precious Saturdays if we had been good. Had we minded all her rules, we might just be rewarded with hearing: “Boys, you’ve been extra good, and you’ve earned an extra slice of cake with ice cream.”