Each summer had been exciting as a teenager, because I could plan to stay a week in the countryside where so much activity took place. Driving on the long road that led back to the old farmhouse, I wished I could go back in time to once again sit and chat with Aunt Edna.

The birds outside chirped a welcome as I looked around the old home. White sheets kept the overstuffed chairs and sofas clean -- a lavender scent permeated my nostrils as I walked in the front door.

I immediately pictured my aunt coming through the dining room door to greet me. But there was no one here. Once inside the kitchen with gingham curtains, Aunt Edna's apron could be seen hanging on a peg against the wall.

I saw the old colander hanging with the other utensils and I could almost hear her say, "Lands sake we'd best get to snapping these beans, and have a tall drink of lemonade so we can keep chattering away." We'd go out the back door from the kitchen onto the screen porch that was always so large and accommodating for every need possible.

Aunt Edna and Uncle Henry kept some rockers and a small wooden table with straight chairs, and a red and white checkered table cloth with an oil lamp so we could eat our afternoon or evening meal on the porch. There was an old hook rug that made it cozy and always a fresh coat of paint that made it feel so clean.

Sometimes Uncle Henry would bring his guitar out and play a few cords. Aunt Edna and I would join in singing "By the Light of the Silvery Moon" or something else. I learned a lot of the older songs while visiting them.

The rockers were still in place as I walked around the back porch. The fragrant flowers that bloomed so beautifully outside the screen filled my head and I sat down. Some old galvanized pans were stacked near the table and I remembered all those Blue Lake green beans that we snapped as we talked about the things that were happening everywhere. We must have covered every family event, historic moments and how Aunt Edna's own grandmother had taught her to sew a perfect stitch.

Often a neighbor or another relative would stop by, and they too, would pick up a pan and sit with us. More talk and laughter would continue as we snapped those beans!

Uncle Henry had a large garden and he leased a portion of his land out to some of the big farmers, as he had retired and was no longer working the farm with the long hours he once had.

Aunt Edna didn't do a lot of freezing. She canned most of the produce out of their garden, and beans were no exception. She liked them canned and so we'd get out the old Mason jars and put up a number of beans, along with zucchini, tomatoes, squash, pickles and chili sauce and applesauce, apple butter and so many good recipes. I was happy to plan my two week summer stay with my great aunt and uncle, as it was always special for a city gal in the country.

"Take something as a memory of Edna and Henry's," the current farm owner and my distant relative said when I picked up the key.
"There's nobody left and they'd want you to have something."

Years ago Aunt Edna had given me an old collection of china slippers that she knew I loved so. Over the years, I had added to her collection, and now they were part of my home decor, kept in an old antique china cabinet.

I lingered just a few minutes longer, thinking back to the sound of the voices and laughter from the old place that had come to mean so much to me. We had made a special skirt on the back porch, sewing the hem and gathering the waist band one summer afternoon. There was a church social that we'd been invited to, and at 13, it was exciting to have a new skirt and be going to a fun activity in anticipation of meeting others my age. I wasn't disappointed, as there were a lot of kids and I became friends with several. I wondered now whatever happened to them.

I picked up the old galvanized pans that we'd used to snap those beans and walked back out into the orchard. I picked a few apples and took them to the car with me. Nothing would ever bring back the memories more than what I could embrace in my own heart about my summer visits with Aunt Edna and Uncle Henry. But I could hang the pans on my porch and someday share my memories with my own family.

I walked back to the car looking at farmland as far as my eyes could see. I heard the noon whistle blow and I could almost hear Aunt Edna remark, "We'd best get the table set and ready, Henry will soon be here for his dinner."

In the distance, I could hear Uncle Henry coming back from the barn singing, "It was from Aunt Dinah's quilting party I was seeing Nellie home."

I smiled -- so thankful for the summer memories with two special people.