Marvelous Macaroni Salad

This weekend was UNR graduation for my brother's girlfriend, and also my cousin. My cousin had a graduation party at his house. In our family, graduation parties (as well as the other summer parties) involve barbecues. Whenever there was a party, even when my mom was not hosting, she would be the one who provided half the food without even being asked. And for summer time, my mom made several things. There was sometimes a pig made out of a watermelon, hollowed out and filled with fruit salad. Sometimes a bundt cake or Jell-o jigglers. But the constant was macaroni salad and pasta salad.
This weekend was my first attempt at making the macaroni salad. It is the only macaroni salad that I've ever liked. Most macaroni salad has too much mustard or horrible things like olives and relish. Don't get me wrong, I like relish on my hot dogs, but it does not belong in macaroni salad. Whenever my mom would make this macaroni salad, she would ask for a volunteer to taste it since she didn't eat it. Every time, I volunteered, and every time after I had my first "test bowl" I would coyly suggest that it was okay, but that I'd have to taste some more from a different part of the bowl just to make sure that it was consistent.
Another thing about the macaroni salad is that it was always made in bulk. My mom didn't know how to make "a little bit" of anything. If she was cooking, it was guaranteed that there would be enough food for seconds, thirds, fourths and so on, all the way up to tenths, for every person attending the event. She would cook the macaroni in the largest stock pot she owned, and it practically required a bucket to mix it all up. After it was done, it would be divided up in bowls for the house and for the party, along with plastic bags to be sent home with my brother and I. We would joke that we were going to have to send my dad up to the store for more macaroni because I wasn't sure that there was going to be enough.
The macaroni salad I made this weekend was not nearly as large in scale, but I can only hope that when people eat it, they can taste love in every bite, just like when my mom made it.