Nanna's Kitchen

• Brittany Thomosn, Grade 8
• Short Story
• 2015

Every family gathering is different some people watch the footy, some people, like us, play twister in the backyard, for us the gathering is centred in the kitchen, where the food is. For our family it isn’t about who wins the footy game, it’s about how many people can throw the cookie jar to each other before Nanna comes back in and takes it away in fear of us breaking it. It’s about the mad rush to the yum yum tree, a Christmas tree made of polystyrene balls stuck together with toothpicks and there are lollies stuck to the tooth picks that stick out.
There is just something that makes the kitchen a central place for our family. Maybe it’s the golden brown benches that are beautiful with the sunlight pouring through the windows that only go a foot from the roof down, maybe the kitchen is our place because of the memories, the times we cooked there learning and teaching, the memories of the ancient flour sieve that would make the flour go up in the air and we would see if we could catch it and throw it again make clouds of flour that slowly dust the kitchen with soft white layer.
The family gathering isn’t the only time I venture into the kitchen. As I walk down the front hallway I can hear the sizzling of something in the fry pan and a beautiful scent wafting through the open door. I see a person coming out the door…
‘’Hello darling, how are you?”
“I’m wonderful, Nanna. How are you?” I answer.
The smell of the Thai green curry (my favourite) is simply amazing. I can barely wait till we get to eat.
“Can I help?” I ask eager to be a part of this wonderful creation. As we cook we can hear the hum of grandpa working in the shed fixing things, probably something I broke, we can hear the delighted squeaks and laughter of the kids playing with the Lego, the sound of Jack playing a guitar in the back bedroom. This is what it’s like when we are all there, everyone creates something. Annalise and I have cooked together in here with Nanna for years, perfecting every delicate movement, every aroma, well maybe not everything but we do a lot.
Everything in that kitchen feels natural from the long bench that stop a metre from the wall so everyone can stand behind it and help to the microwave up on the high shelf that I have to stand on my toes to reach. I love the way that the stove tops sit in the corner out of reach of the young children, it’s modern over the top fan that the light only shines faintly. The light isn’t needed though because the sunlight pours through the high windows and at night the new modern lights that are only small but they are brighter than the fan.