grandmas' kitchen

   I remember well grandmas kitchen. It was the heart and soul of the house. Yes my grandmother had a big old coal fired cook stove in the corner. A wood box sat beside it and a coal bucket. The kitchen sink hung on the wall at the other end of that room. A curtain hung from it to cover the pipes. On the opposite wall was a cabinet that contained the dishes and related stuff. There was no table in that kitchen, the area was kept open. It was a work space not a place to relax. Grandma did laundry for other folks to make a living. Often that kitchen would be filled with saw horses supporting those big galvanized wash tubs. There would be three of them. A wash tub, a rinse tub and sometimes the " bluing " tub. Grandma always used bluing, never bleach. And she used " Octagon " soap on a rub board. At least that is the way I remember it being. That and she always had a pot of coffee on, although she preferred tea. It is one of my fondest memories.
 I don't have a picture of grandma in that kitchen. I sure wish I did. Funny though I have a picture of my Great grandmother, who lived almost across the street from my grandmother, standing at her stove. She too has a coal cook stove. I remember that stove but great grandma she passed when I was three. Great Grandfather basically lived in their kitchen after that and that is how I remember his home, for the most part. Still I have that picture and it reminds me of all of this. This morning I glanced up and the thought came to me, my kitchen is Grandmas kitchen ? Something how you don't really think about that isn't it ? To my grandchildren it is Grandmas kitchen, different from there's Moms' a unique place in time. Grandmas kitchen is a " working " kitchen too, although it does have a table and chairs in it and no laundry is done there. I wouldn't call it the heart and soul of the house either. But, maybe they do, I've never asked. Fact is it is something that can't be answered yet. It takes one vital ingredient before that could be answered. And that ingredient is time. It has been close to fifty years since I stood in Grandmas kitchen. At the time it was an everyday thing, now a memory.
 I wonder what the kids will remember ? That is also something I'll never know. I can't live that long can I ? By the time Mark reached 63 I would be 110. It's doable but not likely. LOL When the kids were small I let them play with the pots and pans. Gave them wooden spoons and a pot, they had a ball. Grandma would let them play with shaving cream on the kitchen table. They liked that a lot. Many cookies, cakes, and other treats have been baked in that oven. Our is a modern electric one ! No wood box or coal bucket. It is a strange thing though. As I think about it I feel a bit of sadness for them. I'm thinking they will remember the living room and watching television with us more than anything else. I hope I'm wrong. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could " build " memories for our children and grandchildren ? A sort of nostalgia program. Fact is, we do. How much thought do we put into that however ? I'm afraid not as much as we should. Of course that is also what makes it genuine.
 Well. I have rambled on a bit but that is alright. It just struck me that I live in Grandmas kitchen or, at the very least, Grandmas house. Somehow that is surprising. I mean, I've known the fact for years but lacked the awareness of it. Do you know what I mean ? I live in Grandmas house, why is that ? Why isn't it Grandpas house ? Or is it ? MMM, something only the kids know the answer too, but not for years yet. I'd have to ask their children ! That's something to think about.