The Good Ones Vol.1

My Mum’s Kitchen

I feel as if I have had all of lives most important conversations in my Mum’s kitchen.

Every achievement goes on the fridge, every important date, every photo with Santa. It’s where everyone passes through life. It’s where cups of tea and comfort meals are made after a particularly bad day. It’s where Mum cooks her famous Christmas lunch. It’s where the radio plays and the light from the sun flows through the window.

There is always a place for you in my Mum’s kitchen.

My mum used to tell me, every time I would complain that the kettle was taking too long that…

“A stove top kettle will teach you patience”

I would roll my eyes and tell her that they built electric ones for a reason.

I know now, that she is right.

I wouldn’t be the person I am without that stove top kettle. Waiting for the steam to emerge and the whistle to blow has since become one of my favourite pass times. It allows you to have a moment to yourself on busy days. Moments that can often be taken for granted. Moments where we find ourselves thinking about the things that we thought we put away long ago. Talking to the ghosts of our pasts… Planning for the future… Listening to songs like it’s the first time all over again, lyrics hitting your heart differently than they did originally…. and when that whistle blows, all the thoughts go with it and you are back in your kitchen better than before

Casey Anne Martin. Published June 2022

Image: Kathryn Penning (aka my mum) captured by Casey Anne Martin