My son Alex and I were standing side by side at the stove cooking dinner. I was stirring a pot of sauce while Alex was waiting for the pasta water to come to a boil. When it finally did he started to pour the pasta in from it’s box when one of ziti noodles missed the pot and fell next to the flame on the stove.
“It’s okay, I’ll get it.” Alex said as he went to the drawer and got out a pair of tongs. Reaching under the pot he used the tongs to get the piece of ziti before it caught on fire. As he pulled it out I put my hand out for him to drop it in the palm of my hand.
“Are you kidding?” He said as he went over to the trash can. “It’s too hot for you to handle.”
I shook my head. “It wouldn’t be too hot for me.” I took a spoon out of the drawer and took a quick taste of the sauce before reaching in the spice cabinet for the oregano. “You know I have asbestos hands.” I gave a few quick shakes of oregano before stirring it again.
Alex opened the tongs and dropped the ziti in the trash before tossing the tongs in the sink.
“Oh, yeah. I forgot about that.” He came back to the stove to give his pasta a stir. “I don’t know how many times I’ve used the sink right after you’ve used the hot water.” He began shaking his head. “It’s ridiculous how hot you have it!”
“Hey, if you’re washing pots and pans and you want to get them really clean you have to use hot water.” I reasoned.
He went to the drawer to get the colander out. “Have your hands always been able to take that kind of heat?”
I thought about it for a minute. “I don’t think so.” I went to the refrigerator to get everything I needed to make a salad. Putting it all on the counter I got out the cutting board. “I think I’ve built up a tolerance over time.” I pulled out a knife and began cutting up the vegetables. “I guess you could call it one of my super powers!” I laughed.
Alex turned off the stove and took his pasta over to the sink with the colander. “That’s a super power?”
“One of many.” I assured him as I looked over at him. “What do you consider one of your super powers?”
“I’m not sure I’d call it a super power.” He said as he left the pasta to drain and went back to the stove to give the sauce a stir.
“Oh, come on now.” I said as I placed the salad in a bowl. “Don’t be modest.”
“Well, I guess the common sense of knowing when I shouldn’t be putting my hands in something that’s too hot for most other humans could be it.”
I looked over at him and gave him the stink eye. “So, you’re telling me you think I should be using warm water to wash the pots and pans from now on?”
“Absolutely not!” He came over to me and patted me on my shoulder. “I totally appreciate your asbestos hands!”
“So what exactly are you trying to say?” I went to the stove to turn the burners off.
“Is dinner ready?” He asked.
“Yup.” I said as I poured the pasta in with the sauce.
“Okay. I’ll go tell Dad dinner’s ready.” He headed out of the kitchen.
“You’re pretty gifted at changing the subject!” I called after him.
“It’s my super power!” He called back.
Slice of Life 