We laughed, ate favorite foods, and reminisced as the six of us enjoyed a reunion time at my Indiana cousins’ lakeside home. With travel more safely accomplished this summer than last, our time together held added significance. We wondered when the three cousins and spouses last enjoyed a meal together. Memory fades in remembering a date although this time will be logged as a treasured one for sure.
Columnist Marty Coffin Evans
“Those were Grandma June’s cookies,” commented Cousin Anne as she passed them around the “table” – AKA makeshift one on our laps during a lunch boat ride. I now have that recipe along with my aunt’s Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes. Corn and green beans from Cousin Chuck’s farm added to our meals. “This corn has 17 rows instead of the typical 16,” noted his wife Bonnie, while buttering and admiring its length before taking a picture. Does eating farm fresh produce taste more flavorful when shared with family members? With decades of visits to Northern Indiana’s Lake Webster, stories and memories of times past come easily along with other favorites.
Fried mushrooms top the list remembering my aunt cooking those in the original cottage. Now my cousin aptly fries them to perfection – watch out cholesterol! During our five-state drive to visit family in Kansas on the way to Indiana, we quickly noted America’s on the move again based on the different license plates we saw.
Travelers in cars, RVs, towing U-Hauls or riding motorcycles came from 16 other states from California to Florida, New York to Texas and others in between. Where did you find your treasured memories this summer? How and where did you travel? Did special times with family or friends add into the mix along with favorite foods? Do you have to rely on your memory for these treasured times, or, did you take a picture?
Martha (Marty) Coffin Evans, Ed.D. is a freelance writer with MACE Associates, LLC. She can be reached at itsmemartee@aol.com.