January 21, 2010
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Kitchen Dreams
How did I end up here? I thought. My hand was on the doorknob that led into the kitchen. I looked back at the door that led out to the driveway, and then the door to the garage. Okay. They’re both locked, I thought.I turned the knob and walked into the kitchen. The walls were all white. The kitchen curtains caught my eye; wind was blowing them in softly, the hand embroidered cherries and robins lifting up and then drifting back to the windowsill.
I embroidered the cherries. First thing I ever embroidered.
But the window… there was something about the window.
I turned to face the sink. The wooden shelf was on the wall at eye level. The two water glasses sat there, upside down. I smiled. They were a gift from Cousin Steve to my grandmother, brought from his first trip to Hungary.
Those were smashed to smithereens, about 25 years ago.
Suddenly, the significance of the window hit me: My mother had covered the window by placing a big kitchen workspace thingy there, the kind with shelves and doors up near the top.
“I get it,” I said out loud. “I’m dreaming again.”
I smiled. This was my grandmother’s kitchen when it was still her kitchen. I loved my mom, but I hated the changes she made to Grandma’s favourite room. For my grandmother, the kitchen was not about decoration or color, but function. Almost everything was white or steel. When my mother would pick on her for it, my grandmother said that the only colours that her kitchen needed were found in the food she cooked and the people who visited.
The curtains had been my mother’s idea. She sewed them, and embroidered the little birds in a bright blue. I did the cherries under her supervision. It started a lifelong love of working with needles; Ken is constantly sitting on some piece I’m knitting or embroidering or something.
This was how I loved her kitchen. This is how things are supposed to be, I thought. Clean and simple.
When I turned around again, “my” chair was pulled out. “Mine” was the chair closest to the doorway that led to the rest of the house. My grandmother always sat in the one next to it, facing the window.
I sat in it and looked down at the edge of the table. I made that scratch.
When I looked up again, Grandma was sitting in her chair, with a cup of coffee in front of her and a box (more like a wooden mini-crate) of peapods in front of her.
I had not dreamed of her in so long. Months. I’ve missed her.
I smiled when she shrugged. “You don’t come see me, I think something is wrong. I say, ‘she don’t come, I bring her here myself.’ And here you are.”
The sound of her voice, the gentle tone and the thick Hungarian accent, warmed my heart. “Hi, Grandma.” I sounded like I was five years old, and that made me laugh.
My grandmother smiled and handed me the small kitchen scissors, the ones that were always mine to use. I took them from her hand. Arthritis curled those beautiful hands.
“Take these,” she said, tossing a small pile of peapods onto the table before me, “And clip off the ends. See?” Grandma showed me how.
Wait. This is weird. “You never made anything with peapods, Grandma.”
She chuckled. “You ruin your dreams when you say things like that, Vuhn’-essa. Clip off the ends.”
I clipped off the ends of the peapods and listened to my grandmother.
“You don’t cook no more. You don’t feed nobody. How you expect to be happy when you no cook nothing?” she asked.
“I cook a little more, now… especially since we moved in with Ken’s Dad…”
“Tch!” My grandmother tossed the trimmed peapods into the glass mixing bowl. I still have that bowl.
She put the bowl into the refrigerator and came back with a mason jar filled with raspberries. I smiled. The raspberries.
“What is cooking?” Grandma quizzed me.
I blinked.
“See? You forget. Cooking is love, Vuhn’-essa.”
“And food,” I added. My hand went for the jar of raspberries.
My grandmother smiled and swatted my hand. “No. Food is food. Cooking is love. You cook. You feed your family. You give love. Simple… but you forget.”
I leaned over and planted a kiss on her cheek, the soft wrinkled skin close to her jaw, where her birthmark is. I smell lilies of the valley and coffee. “You’re right, Grandma. I forget.”
She shrugged and took my hand. “It’s okay. I remind you.”
I woke up this morning and started writing a shopping list. My husband and my father-in-law are about to begin eating really well… because I love them.
Comments (56)
This made me cry. It’s beautiful.
I love this. gah. i really do.
Missed you. This is wonderful!
This made me smile…
This, CB, this is just…
The COOLEST Beans!
I can’t express how much I love this one.
Ohhhh, this is so sweet!
This is so good, and your granny is so right.
maple chicken wings
Well, when you say it like that I wanna learn how to cook. Very very sweet. :0)
This was so good to read. Thanks for writing it.
Oh, this is so beautiful and touching.
Oh, Ness . . .this is glorious . . . I can’t even comment . . . I’m so moved . . . I wish your grandma would come visit me . . .
Incredible. I’m cooking my family dinner right now I could sit and read your stories all day long.
Thank goodness for Grandma, V. My husband speaks to the kids about cooking with love. I’m glad to hear we can still remind them in their dreams. Spirit answers everytime. We just have to be willling to hear. (pats heart and points to you and Grandma) (Comes back and points to Ken and his dad, thus completing a circle of love.)
Tears and mint tea, and Nana going on about dan-dilly-ons in the front lawn mixed up with my big smile, now. Thanks for that.
Dreams foreshadow the unlimited power of the mind, you can have this whenever you wish.
Ah the Lost art of Canning
(It’s a good Skill to know)
Agriculture as well.
God Is
-thend-
This is simple and beautiful. Thank you for sharing!
This is so beautiful… beautiful……… wow…….. peace & sparkles
You are lucky, I never remember my dreams.
Nessa, fabulous ~ you have such vivid memories of some precious times in your life, girl~ Blessings for sure
This is so incredibly sweet. Love this!!
This is beautiful I miss my mom and always feel like she visits me in dreams too! Loved your entry.
<3
Oh, I’ll definitely miss my grandma when she passes away. )=
This post is lovely.
This was beautiful.
really good!
that was really sweet. thank you
Aww! I don’t know whether to put a frownie face or a smiley face…
Cooking is love. Well said.
Awww, this is adorable! & It’s a tad odd since I’m all in a cooking mood since I finished watching Julie & Julia. This post made me smile! Have a good time cooking. =)
Great post :]
I liked this very much. Please write more memories.
Very touching!
Major cool beans!!!
You’ll need to msg me with your address so I can mail the .25 cent check.
Simply fantastic.
awwwww
i don’t know you…but this was beautiful…i just spent the morning cooking because today marks 3 months since my boyfriend broke up with me and my roommate has been driving me crazy…through the course of the morning my roommate became a person to me again…it’s so true…cooking is love…
Indeed. I very much enjoyed this. Thank you for sharing.
How wonderful are your words, how beautiful are your dreams.
From the terse, succinct words to the wistful, dream-like alignment of images, your thoughts laced in between reinforcing their significance… I haven’t read such a good reminiscence of a dream, or even of a memory, in such a long while. Thanks– I’ll try to remember “cooking is love” when I’m called upon to cook, too.
So cute this post.
This is…it’s just wonderful.
Stunning, stunning. Thanks for sharing this…
You are brilliant..this was lovely! Thank you.
this was beautiful and so very true
Wonderful post! I got all choked up. I wish I could have a dream like that – it has been so long…
i loved this, amazing
Dreams are amazing things, and can bring so much comfort, joy, and reminders of what really matters in life. Thank you for such a lovely post. =]
I adore your posts about family, as always. And I will cook today, of course, and think of you.
My favorite part of this is Ken sitting on needlework that you are working on…I love that detail…
what a beautiful dream and what a beautiful connection with your grandmother. .
Love.
What a great write. I cook even for me when I am alone. It is an act of love. I believe I am worth it. Now my daughter and I share the cooking. Judi
i loved this.
This was gorgeous. I love your writing style, it is absolutely beautiful and haunting. Keep up the good work, I can’t wait to read more.
This writing skills of you gonna make you a very rich lady one day soon if you’re serious enough to pursuit them.