What started as a visit from Bailey Wolff’s Ukrainian parents-in-law turned into a three-year cohabitation when war broke out in their home country. During their stay, he learned a great deal about them and about himself, including his love-hate relationship with the many, many soups his mother-in-law makes. He also gained a new appreciation for family and the sacrifices it sometimes requires.
His piece, “Yes, I’d Like Some Soup,” is a personal view of this global crisis that turned his living room into his in-laws’ living quarters and pushed his office into the garage.
“It was such an impossible situation that we were in as a family,” Bailey said. “This complicated situation is unbelievable but it’s also really beautiful at the same time.”
Bailey balances the seriousness of the Ukrainian war with the hilarity of living with in-laws whom he didn’t know well and who have very different cultural habits.
“They also became a mirror for me and the way I live,” he said, noting his sometimes wastefulness with food.
Nothing represents this more than soup. While warm, comforting, and economical, too much soup can be bland. But when you don’t have it, you miss it most, he explained.
With humor and honesty, he describes learning to see their quirks as acts of love and sometimes sacrifice, and to appreciate all they do for his family. “Now, I eat the soup. I want the soup.”
Bailey works in commercial lending and writes freelance features. This is his first memoir piece. He was inspired to submit after taking a class with Marni Freedman and Tracy Jones of the International Memoir Writers Association. He’s elated to see his piece performed at the Memoir Showcase on Nov. 14 at the Garfield Theater in La Jolla. He has invited many friends and family, but his in-laws have other plans.
“They’ll be watching the kids,” he said. “They’re allowing us to attend.”