I read an article recently about the woman who designed the prototype for the basic modern kitchen, created for efficiency.

It was fitted with built-in cabinets and drawers that optimized storage and, for the first time, showed a continuous counter with a tiled backsplash. Minimum movement was required to complete all the duties of prep, cooking and washing up. It was a whole new concept.

The catch was, the woman was not a housewife or a mother—she didn’t even cook for herself. Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky designed her “Frankfurt kitchen” in 1926 as part of a social housing project. Her goal was to make life easier for working women. It made me think of how we consider people qualified for projects, and then it occurred to me, how do we decide we are qualified for life?

I suppose all this existential thinking came from memories of my mom as Mother’s Day approaches. She isn’t here anymore but I never cease to wonder at how she managed, a young mom at 19 years of age with me in tow. My grandma (her mom) was a great cook apparently but lost her appetite for cooking when she started to........

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