Author: Becca Robinson
The kitchen has always been my favorite room in the house. It is where I find comfort, memories, peace, and happiness. It is certainly not about the food that gets cooked there. The food that comes out of my kitchen is not great, but the memories are. When I reflect on memories of my life, some of the best ones were made in the kitchen. It is my and my family’s favorite place to hang out. If you come to my house, you will rarely find us spending time together on the couch. We can usually be found sitting at the bar in the kitchen. I am not sure why it is this way; it just is. Maybe it is because it was my mother’s favorite place, so it became mine.
Throughout my childhood, my mom would turn on country and western music and she would dance us around the kitchen for hours. I remember dancing, singing, and laughing the entire time. I also remember sitting at the table doing my homework, watching her prepare dinner, and having small chats with her. My dad often cooked breakfast on the weekends. I loved sitting in the kitchen talking to him while he cooked. To this day when I smell breakfast food, my mind goes back in time to those memories in the kitchen with them. On the weekends my mom would say, “Let’s go to the kitchen and create something!” We would make the strangest foods that never turned out right! But we had lots of laughs while doing it. The kitchen was a fun place to be in our home.
Naturally, when I got married and we had children of our own, we all congregated in the kitchen. We cooked together. We baked and decorated cookies from Halloween until New Year’s. My children and my husband cooked me breakfast on Mother’s Day. I loved watching them all come together in the kitchen to make me a special meal. There is usually music playing and a little dancing. Family game nights at the kitchen table were a weekly event in our home. For the last 25 years, my husband has spun me around the kitchen. He cannot help himself. When there is music on, and I am in the kitchen, he has to grab me and spin me around the “dance floor.” It does not matter what I am in the middle of doing. Eventually, we started kitchen karaoke nights on the weekends. We sit at the bar and sing our favorite songs. The singing always turns into dancing. We sing, dance, and reminisce about the great life we have had together – these nights with my husband are my favorite nights of all.
Now, when our grown children, grandchildren, family, and friends come to visit you can find us standing in the kitchen talking and laughing. I hope everyone has a special place in their home that makes them feel the way me and my family feel when we are in the kitchen.
Vivian is a storyteller and writer from small-town Oklahoma who loves bringing joy and laughter to others through the gift of memory-sharing. 
Becca, your stories always bring to my mind so many memories of growing up with your family. I remember your mom dancing around the kitchen. I remember your dad making fried potatoes on Sundays. Your mom taught me to make potato salad in your family’s kitchen. I remember two-stepping with your brother in your family’s kitchen. The kitchen is so much more than just a room, it is a sanctuary. Thank you for that reminder and for keeping that tradition alive in your family. This is a great story – thank you for sharing!
I’m so happy to hear that you have the same memories as I do in our family kitchen. I also remember my dad making fried potatoes. When I think about fried potatoes it smell them, I always think of him.
The kitchen is definitely made for dancing and making memories. So many memories made in our kitchens growing up. Watching so many people that I love dance and cook together are some of my most favorite memories. Thank you for writing and sharing this!! Love you ❤️❤️
Becca, what a sweet essay! I felt like I was with you in the kitchen reading your words. A great gift to your parents gave to you. You have passed it on to your children and others!
Thank you, Dr.J! I always hope that my stories are descriptive enough to make people feel as if they are there with me. So this is the greatest compliment I could ever get. Thank you for your sweet comment. Thank you for always being my #1 fan and so supportive.
Thank you, Mellissa. So many memories of you in our childhood kitchens and in our adult kitchens. Still making kitchen memories today! We will be making many more when I move back to our home state in a couple of months! Love you!
Our little family has dance parties in the kitchen. My daughter, in particularly, loves it when I lift my hands out in an invitation to dance to one of her favorite songs. Lots of good things happen in our kitchen!
Brian,
This is such a sweet comment. I love this for your family. What fun memories you all are making!! I love it when the littles want to dance.
Our six year old granddaughter and our nearly two year old granddaughter also love to have dance parties in the kitchen. Our six year old granddaughter will shout “dance party” and run into the kitchen. We are all expected to follow her, of course. Then she tells Alexa what song she wants to hear (lately it’s Taylor Swift) and we will start dancing. She likes to dance and we have to mimic her dance moves. Then when she shouts “freestyle” we get to dance any way we want. The little one tries so hard to do this. We all laugh and smile so much. I’m a little sad that I left that part out of my story. Good times!
Becca, I love your story! So proud of you! Looking forward to you all coming home.