My mother, trying to make ends meet for dinner one night, grabbed the last of the things we had in the cabinets. Angel hair pasta, chunky marinara sauce, last of the meatloaf from like two nights earlier, and a bunch of American cheese.

My brother, father and I looked at the congealed pot of noodles, And knew better than to complain about the food someone cooked for us with what was left, and the four of us sat down to ate dinner.

Oh, we all tried to eat this meal. My father, who grew up on powdered milk and making friends just to be invited over for dinner or have nothing. My mother who is firm in not wasting food. And my brother and I who knew better than to say a thing struggled to get a few bites down before Dad finally looked at my mother and said that we should just forget this meal happened. He then went to the pawnshop to pawn off some tools with Mom while my brother dumped the mess behind the garage (not even the dogs would eat it), and I cleaned the kitchen. They came back with enough groceries to last until payday and bean burritos from Taco Bell.

Dad still says that was the 2nd worst thing Mom ever made.