Grandma's kitchen

4 Generations

I remember when I was about 10 visiting my Grandma and Grandpa on the farm in Kansas. It was a wonderful, memory filled time. One of the things I remember is how much Grandma cooked. She got up early and would cook a full breakfast for the men and the rest of us. Eggs, potatoes, bread, bacon in piles and piles. The men would head out to the fields and Grandma would clean up. Then she would start lunch. I think she called it supper though. Again, another full meal including cookies and cakes. I remember making crescent rolls for the first time, only hers were not from a can. She would drive baskets of food and cases of soda out to the fields, come back and finish cleaning up. And then there was always a full dinner with dessert. I remember one time she made home made noodles for chicken noodle soup. After they were cut, she had them hanging all around her big country kitchen. I remember her potatoes augratin with ham under it. I remember her fried chicken that she butchered and "let" us help clean. And as much as I remember her in the kitchen, I also remember her cleaning and sorting eggs, doing laundry and going to work occasionally at the hospital kitchens. I also remember her and Grandpa watching Lawerence Welk Show in the evenings.
Grandma is almost 90 now and I haven't been back to the farm in ages and ages. I almost don't want to so that I don't mix up those memories. I have seen my grandparents here in the northwest a few times since I have been married. My dear Grandmother has had a number of strokes and isn't able to do much any more. I love her dearly and always think about her when I start feeling like I am on a hamster wheel in the kitchen of my own home, serving cereal and pbjs. I'm not complaining, I love being home and being a mom. But sometimes, it does get a little monotonous. And then I think about how little I do in comparison to this dear lady and I am all better.