10/9/2018
Angel Wings And LaughterANGEL WINGS AND LAUGHTER
I can remember watching my mom at the crack of dawn. She was wearing her heavy white robe with the sleeves rolled up and her arm was inside a turkey that looked bigger than I was. I can still picture the table the first time my “Big Grandma” (my mama’s mom) placed “Shake and Bake” chicken in front of us kids. We all marveled at this new and wonderful invention. I never knew my mouth could be so happy. I remember telling my “Little Grandma” (my dad’s mom) that she made the best mashed potatoes in the whole world. She confided in me that her secret was the whole milk and butter she added. I remember baking peanut butter cookies with Big Grandma and mama. Mom showed me how to press them with a fork and Grandma told me only Crisco would work in the dough. Fruit cocktail cake. Chicken cacciatore. Pierogis and potato pancakes. Hot dogs, mashed potatoes and sour kraut. Go’wompkis and city chicken. Grandma’s cheesecake and fabulous fudge. Chrusciki~Angel wings and laughter. The smell and the taste and the laughter. And mom in the middle of it all. 💗 Memories. A dear friend reminded me this week of how special memories are and how thankful we should be for them. The smells. The tastes. All triggers of memories that were a part of my childhood. Happy get~togethers with family. Holidays and birthdays. Love and laughter. Sometimes the memories can cause our hearts to hurt. We miss our sweet loved ones. Some days I wish I could be that little girl again, watching mama clean the turkey before our big Thanksgiving meal. I miss her terribly, and when the colder air blows in and the leaves start to turn~the memories flood over me. One month from this day, 11/3~ she would take her last breath and enter heaven’s glory. What would I do different had I known, I only had that one month to be with her? So much. God has given us a gift. The gift of today. What we can’t do over, we can do anew~ Today. We can make new memories and we can choose to find joy and thankfulness in the gift of the memories God has already given us. How sad our lives would be if God did not give us these precious gifts. Memories tucked away in our hearts that will last us a lifetime, long after our loved ones are gone. Memories that will bring us laughter, even when our hearts are hurting. Memories that help us shape our today’s. So~~I made grandma’s peanut butter cookies, Crisco and all. Who knew in this age of ‘health food everything’ that they still made it? I showed my granddaughter how to press them with a fork. She snuck one off the pan before they were even cool and the twinkle in her eye and laughter in her voice is a new memory I will cling to. Perhaps one day I will try to make angel wings with her. And she will remember~ Angel wings and laughter. Lots of laughter. |
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