Zucchini memories

Autumn Horse by JaneDoe87

Once when I was 10 my Mom and I went to visit Aunt Diane and Uncle Ken at their home in New Jersey. A ranch house in the woodsy suburbs, with tall trees and good gardens. After a polite amount of visiting time and settling bags in, I stepped out to let the adults catch up, and crawled up a boulder on the lawn for an hour or so of reading until dinner. My silence was much more at place outside than in.
Something about the familiarity of extended family made me uncomfortable. My own nuclear unit I understood, but relatives I saw once, maybe twice a year, were often strangers to me. Not that I didn't bask in the attention, but I always wondered if there wasn't some elaborate unspoken dance going on, some conversation between the lines I wasn't hearing or speaking, that would have let me into this bright world where the whole extended families were friends together. As far as I was concerned, I had a whole lot of family, but besides my parents, sister, and brother, no friends among them.

Then the unexpected happened. After about half an hour Aunt Diane emerged from the house, with a plate of zucchini sticks. I tried not to look up, lest I appear unappealingly eager for company. But she joined me at the rock like this was a place we frequented. After some small talk, and polite bites of my first zucchini, I expected her to return to the house of grown-up conversations. But she stayed. I can't remember what we talked about, I know we were silent for periods of time most people are uncomfortable with. Eventually it turned dusky, she let me know that dinner would be ready soon, and returned to the lit house. The feeling she left me with was like the shock of a root suddenly touching a cool running stream.

So much of my anxiety over family was that I didn't know how to talk to them. But Aunt Dd was silent with me. She spoke my language. Her kindness, patience, and skill with nuance taught me some important lessons that day. Not the least of which that there were friends in the family.

Also, zucchini is now one of my favorite vegetables-filled with potassium and vitamins A and C, great to saute. I'm honored to have such an awesome Aunt, who opened my eyes to something so unassuming yet fulfilling.