Two Kitchens

For many years the kitchen had been the focal point or the heartbeat of my family. I had been raised in a family that always believed that the family always sat down to dinner together. That was where everyone shared what was going on in their lives. It was an instant connect with your family. I carried those same beliefs with my children and always made sure that dinner was spent together because I had always considered it important.
Growing up my sisters and I had two kitchens. Didn’t most divorced parents have two of everything? We had Grandma’s kitchen, my mother’s mother lived with us and did most of the cooking. Then we had our step-mother’s, Francine’s, kitchen. Both of these kitchens were the heartbeat of the home. Francine introduced us to beef stew with brown gravy. Well, I must have died and went to heaven. It was the best beef stew that I had ever eaten, and remains as such even today. Everything Francine cooked was out of this world. We always had a big Sunday dinner and the food was positively succulent. Dessert was another story. Everyone we knew raved about Francine’s cream puffs. She cooked everything from scratch. There was no cheating in Francine’s kitchen.
My two sisters and I looked forward to those delectable dinners every Sunday. More often than not my dad would stop at the bakery for bread. He would buy two loaves; one which was for sharing on the way home as we were absolutely ravenous after church. That would hold us over for the delicious meal we knew that Francine would prepare once we arrived.
Now, that we are women and have families of our own we have created our own kitchens, so to speak. I must admit that when we had visited last summer it had been like stepping through a time-warp. I was instantly transported to my childhood, if only for a moment as Francine sent about cooking our favorite meals, which was touching since this was our first trip up north in years. She accepted us into her home as though we had never left and I finally realized that we are still so very much connected. That is what is so wonderful about family. No matter where you might be in your life there is always a place to come home to. And it is definitely okay to have two kitchens, even now.