Ian Tyson

Transcript

I grew up in a single-parent home lots of people do mom passed when I was ten years old she had a brain tumor lost use of her red arm left leg was in a wheelchair and in and out of hospitals gratitude was often tough to come by in our house dad was an independent business person he was a freelancer that meant long days at work and sometimes longer days in the home office he busted his butt to put food on the table but the funny thing was he wasn't necessarily the one putting the food on the table my brother and sister and I were latchkey

kids we'd come home there'd be a note with our tasks our chores the things that needed to be got done before dad got home for dinner my older brother was always in charge of some kind of meet my younger my younger sister canned vegetables frozen vegetables me I was the carbs I'm still the carbs it's kind of become my life's work but it wasn't just any carbs it was something very specific more times than I can remember instant mashed potatoes not sure if you've ever had the pleasure dehydrated potatoes that look like they've been put through a pencil sharpener water milk butter salt not the

best thing on the menu necessarily but I'll tell you this I loved them and I loved that it was my job I took such pride in it I loved when I got to the point that I didn't even have to measure anymore I could I ball that thing when we went to family therapy as a family to try and heal going through that time I remember the very first session therapists had us go through introduce ourselves say our name and what our job was in the household I said I'm in I'm the mashed potatoes I relished the job and my brother and sister and I

yeah sure we fought like siblings do in the kitchen but when dad came home and we sat down at that table well we may not have been a family that said grace all the time but we damn well gave thanks thanks for the father that was getting us through thanks for the food on the table thanks for each other and we gave that thanks in spite of the empty chair at the end of that table and that sense of gratitude it fueled the engine for us we got it we gave it we wanted more it fed our lives it fed our souls it fed our

healing it was the fuel for the engine of our healing that's why even to this day in my life I don't say I'm grateful I have great fuel it's the thing that drives you forward that great fuel can change and alter your life in so many ways my siblings and I still fight but it's no wonder that cooking has become a passion for all of us because the thing we most fight about is who's bringing what to the family functions but as with an email that I received this week more often than not it's hae-in you want to bring mashed potatoes hell yeah I do

except the game has changed it's russet potatoes skins on cooked and milk roasted garlic white cheddar chives salt pepper ah good stuff but I have to say when I reflect on that time what I think about is my dad and how he must have felt Jimmer being a kid and you come home from school kindergarten first grade maybe it's Mother's Day Father's Day birthday Christmas something you don't have money to buy a gift so what do you do you make something for them maybe in class but you come home and you say I made this for you and I know as someone who now has

grown kids I miss those days when my kids would come home and say dad I made this for you right in the fields all of their love all of their joy everything for you put right into that but what that makes me realize and think about is why don't we every single day do things that allow us to look ourselves in the mirror and say I made this for you because we don't we're not grateful for ourselves sometimes we don't create that great fuel it's one of the reasons that I cook I love to cook and I'm passionate about it but I live alone sure

I love having people around my table you are all welcome I love having people sit around my table but more often than not I'm cooking for just me and I'll post that on Instagram I'm not ashamed but often times when I do I'll get a text from somebody friend of mine that may say hey who's over I see nobody well why did you plate it like that with all the garnish and the lovely stuff and I say cuz I'm worth it and what I want you to know is so are you find the thing that's gonna give you that great fuel find the thing that's

gonna feed your life and fuel that engine oh and one last thing I made this for you

Transcript generated from the recording and lightly cleaned. Some names and wording may differ from the spoken speech.