Childhood Flashback

     My neighbor, Mrs.Olsen, always made chicken noodle soup every fall and winter.  She'd make more or less depending on when people were feeling ill or what the weather was like that week.  There were usually a few bones left accidentally in there somewhere and about a half an inch of fat on the top, but once you skimmed it off, the soup was delicious.  She would get out a special porcelain cup - white with 1970's yellow flowers printed on it, and scoop out the soup into my tupperware container to take home.  On "Soup Days", her kitchen was warm and smelled inviting.
     Mrs.Olsen passed away about six months ago.  Her house has been sold, but the new family has yet to move in.  The house, now empty of all of her possessions, seems creepily silent and sadly...well, empty.  

     I was devastated when she passed; she was like an extra grandmother to me.  One Halloween night about sixteen years ago, I went trick or treating to her house and when she offered me the giant platter of candy, I chose the one in the center: a Red Delicious apple.  The desolate kitchen just makes me miss my elderly neighbor.  I spent several days this week thinking about that soup she made because a cold has been kicking my butt.  There's nothing better than chicken noodle soup made with lots of love when you're feeling sick!