Written By: Michael Sandoval
The Past
It took me a long time to realize how much of an impact family moments had in my career. There were days in the past when I thought that “the reason why I began cooking was because of how easy the vocational high school program would be and or because I loved cooking eggs”…. Hahahha!!! ( I still love cooking eggs BTW).
Over the years I’ve determined that the desire for my profession resided mostly in the moments that my mother was able to create… That was it! The Memory! That’s what made me happy! That’s what I wanted to recreate for people!
A Moment… Just like the ones that I had as a child!
The moments where nothing else mattered…..
It was all about the food, the environment and the family!
“True bliss is when life is allowed to be placed on hold and the celebration of food and each other becomes more important than any second in time”
The feeling that I am describing could only arrive or be felt during the instance of surrender. That moment when life was allowed to be placed on hold and the celebration of each other became more important than any second in time.
Not a lot of people know this about me but, English was not my first language. Although I was born in the United States, my mother, sisters and I had to move to Mexico shortly after my birth.
There were numerous amounts of complications which led to my mothers internal bleeding after giving labor. She became very ill……. As an immigrant parent, insurance was not something that was readily available. There wasn’t a choice; My mother’s safety was a priority and we would have to move back to Mexico so that she could be properly treated.
My mom was sick for months. I was taken care of by my sister. Mary, the oldest of three played the role of mother. You could imagine that a 16 year old young woman had plenty of other things in mind besides taking care of an infant brother.
Looking back and recognizing my family and my sister Mary, it reminds me to be Selfless! To be a man that will sacrifice for good people and for good reason! Although she may not know it…. My sister’s choice and my families sacrifices have made a lasting impact on my life in The Past!
