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Sunday, November 18, 2012

THE KITCHEN

When we were children the kitchen was the center of our family activities. Mom cooked and we helped or we sat around the table and talked while she worked. When Dad came home he would "freshen up" and come to the table for dinner. In those days, dinner was served shortly after he got home from work. Our lives were scheduled around his work day. That didn't change when Mom went to work. She was home in plenty of time to have dinner ready when he got home. It was often the left-overs from school lunch. Mom was the cook at the elementary school in our town and the left over food could not be served, so it was brought home and/or shared with other school employees.

For a few years Dad was a trucker and as such sometimes was out of town for days or most of the week. During those times, since only Mom and I were home for the most part, dinner was whenever she felt like warming something up or I did. My brother still lived there, but he wasn't home often because he worked evenings most of the time. My sister was married and came for dinner frequently because her husband worked second shift. I also spent many evenings at her apartment with her and one of our favorite meals to make together was macaroni and cheese and you aren't gonna believe this, but we made grilled cheese to go with our mac/cheese! We had no sense of healthy eating nor did anyone else in 1965. We had a lot of good times together and I will never forget "polishing" her kitchen floor one evening. It didn't shine enough for our liking so we decided to use Pledge on it. Wow, it really shined! It looked amazing from the living room looking out over it; it was a large and expansive floor...all the way to the bathroom which we also did! Okay, in an effort to share an important safety message here, DON'T EVER DO THIS! That floor was not only slippery as ice, it was also very difficult to remove. We ended up using Spic~n~Span. And then, of course, waxing it all over because Spic~n~Span removes wax. It turned into a long night of floor recovery. BUT we did have some fun sliding in our socks on the heavily Pledged surface. :)

 Our kitchen today is much smaller and less inclusive by design than my childhood home, but somehow it still becomes a very crowded area when the family is here. I love that and sometimes miss the big country kitchen I had in the home where my kids grew up, but this one functions perfectly for my every day living and I do have another kitchen downstairs for the holiday cooking.

 Amazing, no matter the circumstances, our kitchen always seems to be the family room, of sorts.

What happens in the kitchen, usually ends up bringing a smile, one way or the other. How about your kitchen?

 Jo

37 comments:

  1. It is always fun to learn more about your life. Loved this look into your childhood.

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    1. Thanks, Kat. It's kinda fun to recall these type of memories and the kitchen sure does bring them out.

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  2. The kitchen is the heart of our home as well.
    I homeschool our kids at the kitchen table most of the time, though we read on the couch in the nearby living room.

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    1. Homeschooling does in fact add even more significance to the kitchen. I have never lived anywhere that my kitchen hasn't been the heart of my home.Sounds like that is true for you, as well. Thanks for stopping by and sharing. ♥

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  3. I love my kitchen. It is a big country kitchen that sits right in the center of the house. All public rooms of the house open onto it. It is the primary room of the house and I love it that way. I'm going to miss it when we move.

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    1. I thought that when I moved here, but this one works just fine. It's all about the people, not really the room.

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  4. The kitchen seems to be the heart and soul of our house. It's where everything happens, except for good cooking. That we're still working on ;)

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    1. Common feeling, food is love and food happens in the kitchen.

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  5. Thanks for sharing some stories from your past. My kitchen is small and simple - but very functional.

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  6. My kitchen is very small, but where does everyone also end up? Right there in that tiny space.

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  7. I've always loved cooking and entertaining.. We would gather around the kitchen with conversation, drinks and sharing in the cooking process. I hope it's a memory my sons will hold on to

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    1. I hope so, too. I think that about my grand kids now. We've had some good chats, some good craft times, some good food in this kitchen.

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  8. I have a huge house with a ridiculously small kitchen. With tons of space elsewhere, the kitchen is still where everyone gathers. I had to add an extra bench for the gatherers. And when that wasn't enough, I added a tiny dinette set for more places to sit and chit chat. All despite a massive dining room with matching massive table just feet away. Nothing like a kitchen to bring folks together, regardless of the size.

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    1. Kitchens just are natural gathering places apparently.

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  9. I still like sliding in my stocking feet on a freshly waxed floor. Some things never lose their luster! :O)

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    1. I have to admit, I have slid down my hallway in my socks more than once! LOL

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  10. Nice story..In many ways our childhood memories make us who we are. Doil

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    1. That is exactly right and thank you, Doil.

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  11. We were so young ... and apparently not afraid of falling and busting our butts!! You're right about the kitchen, though. It will happen again this Thursday. And we will love it.

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    1. Then the "kids" will clean up that mess you all make. <3


      Barb

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    2. I know, Pat, we were fearless! We sure had some fun back in the day, didn't we?
      And yes, this week will have a wonderful day in the kitchen shoulder to shoulder and lots of hugs and lots of laughs. ♥

      Barb, that is the natural order of things! LOL I love how you girls just take over...will be Barb, Jayne and Beth this year...your mom and I will, of course, supervise! Love you all so much. ♥

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  12. It's the smell and the feeling of someone caring for you that invades a kitchen, sadly many of the younger generation don't have that. You can't quite duplicate it at Mcdonald's. Plus the fun of letting them'help'. A busy, messy, sweet smelling kitchen is a happy place. Velda

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    1. I so agree! Having the kids in the kitchen was fun and I liked it much more than they did. My grand kids do like to help, though and I love that!

      Busy, messy, sweet smelling kitchens rock!

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  13. The kitchen was also usually the place all of us converged whenever there were family reunions. I remember having some of the best conversations we had there while cooking, baking, or simply sharing the meal that had been prepared. You said that right. The kitchen, apart from any other part of the house, was our family room.

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    1. thanks Anne...it seems to be true in many homes! That is why the new open concept houses are so very popular. I don't have one, but I can sure see the appeal,

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  14. I think a kitchen is generally the place most families gather. Lovely look into your life.

    Kathy
    http://gigglingtruckerswife.blogspot.com

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    1. Thanks so much Kathy. kitchen love is a good thing.

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  15. I love how so often what we think is a good idea turns out to be a long process of removing and fixing whatever it was we thought was a good idea. This is my life. But as long as it involves sliding on the floor with socks...it can't be all that bad of an idea :)

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  16. You're supposed to clean the floors? I thought that's why I got dogs, to clean up all the crumbs No?

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    1. Exactly! My sister didn't have a dog, then. She has one now!!!

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  17. That story makes me laugh, I'm glad you guys figured it out that night and not the next morning on her way to make Coffee. :)

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  18. Now I realize that the kitchen in the home I grew up in was an open design--the kitchen flowing right into the dining room and the dining room flowing right into the living room. It was unusual at the time to have a house that open, but my parents had designed it themselves. We spent many hours sitting at the table talking to Mom while she cooked. Later, my sister and I and our boyfriends sat at that table to pull taffy. When we moved away, Mom insisted on taking the table. She took it to every place she lived until the last, where she didn't have room for a table. It now sits in my younger daughter's dining room.

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    1. I love that story Angela! How wonderful. Few tables can be passed down now because few are well made enough to be handed down!

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