When I was a little girl my grandmother baked bread for us. And my favorite part of the bread baking was that she always made some tiny loaves just for me. It was our thing. She would call me into the kitchen and slather one of my tiny loaves with butter. That warm buttered loaf, with a cold glass of lemonade was my all time favorite meal. It meant that I was special cause of course no one else but me got a special loaf.
My relationship with my grandmother was special and before I understood what love was I loved her unconditionally. We had lots of special things that we did together, but the smell and taste of warm buttered bread chase with a glass of cold lemonade always evokes the memory of my grandma. Of course with my busy life I have never baked a loaf of bread in my life. That doesn’t matter though, cause after a long or tough day, I still reach for that old taste and smell. Obviously I can’t eat too much bread, for health reasons, but it is still my comfort food after all these years.
I am grateful for the time I got with my grandma. She shaped my life in lasting ways. During this week of gratitude, I choose to honor the memory of my grandma and all that she has meant to me. I miss her often. She was introverted like me, quick witted and sharp. She was the perfect balance of kind and firm. She took no pleasure in fools and did not deign to interact with them. At the same time, she would always cook extra food just in case someone stopped by and was hungry. She was the only person I have ever known who was both warm and stoic. I loved that woman. I will have some warm bread and butter and a glass of lemonade in honor of her this week.
Who are you grateful for this holiday season? What foods remind you of them?
This is lovely <3