One of my favorite memories of my mother was having lunch with her at home on school days. I would ride my bike the half-mile or so from the school, down through the playground, through the woods, along the road and the other road, then up the big hill and around the corner into our yard.
My mother would have chicken noodle soup or cream of chicken waiting for me, and maybe a sandwich. We would sit at our small kitchen table and talk. Then I'd hop on my bike and sail down the hill, making it almost over tiny wooden bridge in the woods before having to pedal.
It was a special time for me, no brother and sister interrupting. The only times I couldn't go home for lunch were if the weather were seriously bad or if my mother had to sub at the high school. But she wasn't subbing much yet and so it was pretty much my spring and fall routine to go home for lunch.
I expected my kids would be able to come home, too, but the rules had changed and they had to stay at school. And later, we lived too far away for them to come home.
All my friends ate at school. I was one of few who went home at lunchtime in any grade. It is a happy memory that my mother not only wanted me to come home but took time out to make my lunchtime companionable. I'm sure it required adjusting her volunteer schedule or interrupting her work, but I never heard a complaint, or a request that I stay at school, unless she had an outright conflict that she couldn't resolve.
I got back to school early enough to play marbles on the playground for a few minutes, but going home meant not playing baseball during recess. It was still worth every minute.
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Some of my favorite memories of Nana are also food-related. I remember that Peter and I used to go over to Nana's house after school and we would dust her furniture (with pledge!) to earn our poached eggs. She had a little egg-poaching machine that we thought was just great, though we weren't allowed to touch it because it got too hot.
ReplyDeleteAfter snack Nana would play Memory with me. It was my own special game with her, and no one else played it. She was very patient about letting me play as long as I wanted. It was our special time.
After school we would also go swimming in her neighborhood, practice skating on her sidewalk, or go visiting with her neighbors, some of whom we 'adopted'.
For some reason, I also associate saltine crackers with her, and oyster crackers. I think that might be from after she was sick, and she would try to make sure she was still taking care of her guests, so she would save the crackers for us to eat when we were visiting.
There was also the time Mom made Nana Steak and Kidney pie for her birthday, because it was her favorite. I was so excited, and Nana was so appreciative, that Mom had thought to do it.