Booger Soup

This Saturday we’re having a family reunion. Although if you ask any of my relatives they don’t call it that, it’s a get-together. Reminiscent of when Grandma was alive and we all packed inside her and Grandpa’s house, trying to get to the goodies she’d made and making mad dashes for the best eating spots. I remember these days like it was yesterday. I remember who sat where, who fell asleep and the smells of all the food. Ah the food.

When Grandma became unable to take care of herself these get-together’s stopped. She was put in a nursing home and a year or so later she died. Then the family began only seeing each other for funerals or random run-ins at the grocery store. Three years ago we picked up the tradition, except its only once a year instead of many. But at least we’re trying. We all meet up at the community center in my home town, bring lots of food, and sit and talk about the good old days when Grandma and Grandpa were still around.

I think if they were alive today they’d be amazed at how many of us there are now. I get a giggle when I think about us trying to fit in that old house.

Every family has something that was truly Grandma’s or Grandpa’s territory. And when that object is made or brought around, everyone is giddy with memories. For us, its booger soup. Yes you read that correctly. It is beef stew with lots of veggies, but it goes by one name only in this family. The name came from when one of my uncle’s was little, he made the comment that the soup was so hot the boogers wouldn’t eat it, and the name stuck. This soup was made by my great-grandmother and her mother, etc. and it’s been passed down to each child. It’s a tradition in our family to make this. And this year, oddly enough, my mother is making it for the first time for our get-together. I cannot tell you how excited I am about this. She makes this 5-6 times a year, and it never fails to put a smile on our faces.

I know how everyone is going to react when they smell this, when the taste it. I know what they’ll be thinking. Oh how we miss them.