55 years of Cornmeal Mush

John and Jane were high-school sweethearts, married young, and she was not a confident cook. But early on, she found success with mush. She made cornmeal mush for their breakfast once a week because she knew how much he liked it. You’ve probably never had mush, but imagine if you made grits, left it out to congeal into a lump, fried the lump, and then served it in warm sweetened milk. Ick.

Saturdays were mush day. The only Saturdays they didnt have mush was when they had visitors because they knew mush was not something many others enjoyed as much as they did. When she didn’t make it at home, he would take them to a Bob Evans to get their mush fix.

After 55 years of marriage, Jane passed and John was heartbroken; a fantastically strong and fit man who was crushed by the loss of the love of his life. He has silently suffered with depression for years.

A year after Jane’s death, in an attempt to cheer John, a friend of Jane shared stories of Jane and how much she had loved John. The friend had a secret to share. Jane had never liked mush but had lovingly made it once a week to please him.

John cried.

And then John admitted he had never liked mush but had eaten it to please his young wife. He had never had the heart to critisize Jane’s cooking. He had taken her to Bob Evans so she would not have to miss the meal he thought she loved.

It’s 6 years since Jane passed. He still celebrates their wedding anniversary. He still tears up when someone mentions her name.

John and Jane, not their real names, are real people and the story is true. They are members of my family.