By Sheri LeClair Banitt
We didn’t get a grill until we bought our first house. It was a charcoal grill, and he was always in charge of it.
After the kids were grown and we had more money, he got a fancy gas grill. I was the indoor chef for most of the year, and he was the Grill Master from May through October. He had a few different grills, but they always sat in the same spot on the patio. We covered it over winter and opened it back up in the spring.
4th of July was aways the big family kickoff of grilling season. But sometimes we had Mother’s Day, Memorial Day and then Father’s Day cookouts on the grill with burgers, hot dogs, steaks and all the sides. Men have been “manning” the grills all of my life, beginning with my grandpa, then my dad, then my husband.
Since my husband passed, I have asked my son in law to do the grilling at my house. Two years have gone by now, and I have been looking at that gas grill and thinking I should learn how to use it. I tried a few times, but lighting the grill intimidates me. So, I put the grill and the propane tank out on the curb with a sign that read, FREE-It Works. It was taken quickly. I will miss seeing that grill on the patio and I sure miss seeing him grilling.
Today, I changed the tradition. The gas grill is gone. In its place is a charcoal grill that I can easily manage. Going forward I will be “womaning” the grill at my house. My son in law can relax, have a drink, and “man” the grill at his own house.
Moving on in grief is hard, but it feels good to let go of things that don’t work anymore.
The memories hold the joy.
