Jumped by the 6 of Cups

Yesterday I was at the park with my youngest child while his older sisters were at school. It was one of those days where the sun is hot, but the shade is comfortable, and there were no other kids around, which was a bit unusual. As my son came zooming down the tube slide, I bent over waiting for him to pop out at the bottom, the sun penetrating my back, the red glow of the slide glaring up at me….and suddenly I had a very vivid memory…

Harmonious Tarot - Lo Scarabeo

I suddenly found myself in full recollection of being a small child at a cook-out at my paternal grandmother's house on the East Coast of the United States. My father's family always had really good barbecues and attending them was a special treat: there were coolers full of all kinds of soda (root beer, grape soda, Coke, and my grandmother's special favorite - cream soda), an abundance of hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill, bowls overflowing with potato chips and pretzels, plates of fresh-cut vegetables and ranch dressing, simply dressed potato salad. "What do you want to drink, baby?" some random adult would ask me, and I'd get whatever kind of soda I wanted, a full can all to myself, even though I was probably only about 3 or 4 years old. There was a party atmosphere, kids playing here and there, adults scattered and engaged in conversation, someone tending the grill, water balloons and sprinklers.

All of that came flooding into my mind in an instant, and suddenly I just knew I wanted to recreate that kind of meal that night for dinner. So when we left the park, instead of heading home, we made a beeline for the nearest Winn-Dixie, and loaded up on chips, cream soda, hot dogs and ground beef, and even dill relish (which I don't think I've ever purchased before in my life!). At home I peeled and boiled potatoes, julienned the carrots, seasoned the beef and even made some ranch dressing from scratch. By the time the girls arrived home from school the soda cans were cold, and the potatoes were cooled and ready to be transformed into a salad. They were ecstatic.

I sent Jorge out to refill the propane tank for the grill, and as soon as he came back we were cooking up the burgers and dogs. It was awesome. I could barely finish my hot dog and the refrigerator is now full of burgers since I apparently was so intent on fulfilling my memory that I forgot I wasn't actually serving a large group of people, but that's okay! Leftovers are awesome too ;-)

So here's to Lillian - my grandmother - and her amazing barbecues. The 6 of Cups, a card of nostalgia and the simple joys of youth, pulled me into its voluminous depths and had its way with me. And it was good.