Think back to your childhood, and what you remember from Decembers past. Chances are, at least a few of your memories include sweets. Maybe your mom was like mine, and she made holiday cookies, candies, and pies. What did she make, and what was your favorite? Do you make it now, and if so, how do your family members react?
Maybe your December memories include some not-so-sweet ones. I remember watching Mom cry so hard I thought her heart would stop when Dad left for Viet Nam in December of 1968. I hope when you think back on your Decembers, the good memories drown out the not-so-good ones.
My mom was Eileen Weaver and she loved to create holiday favorites. Each year she’d spend pieces of several days creating a mountain of sugary goodness for the family and to give as gifts. Dad loved her peanut patties and date nut roll. My brothers and I loved her snowball cookies, and loved helping her make cut-out cookies decorated with colored icing and sprinkles. She made caramel corn, peanut butter kiss cookies, pecan brittle, turtles, gingerbread cookies, divinity, fudge, brownies, along with pickled wieners and Chex mix to balance out all that sweetness. When I think of the Decembers in my childhood, the best memories include Mom’s creations. I have her hand-written recipes and use them to bring back those memories for my brothers and me, and sometimes even make enough to share with friends.
What are your December memories, and how do you feel when they pop into your mind? Do you conjure certain ones up just to relive the warm feelings? I do, each time I make a batch of something from Mom’s holiday repertoire. And do you sometimes have to stop and take a breath when a not-great holiday memory crops up? Yeah, memories can leave you breathless with remembered pain, and it can be hard to pull yourself away from memories like that. You can, and for your mental well-being, it’s good if you can learn to do it as quickly as you can. Here are three episodes of the world’s second-shortest podcast to help:
- Want to know why memories sometimes really hurt? Here’s a Tiny Bite for that!
- Holding on to too much stuff from your past? Here’s a Tiny Bite for that!
- Need a nudge to enjoy something special? Here’s a Tiny Bite for that!
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This year for our family Thanksgiving gathering I made pickled wieners and snowball cookies as part of my contribution. We had fun exchanging memories, talking about how the recipes could be updated if we wanted to, and then deciding that Mom’s recipe was the best, so why mess with it.
This year, during the season of sweetness, while you’re busy making figurative memories, remember to slow down and make some literal ones, too. Here’s Mom’s Snowball Cookie recipe, in case you want to start there. Happy holidays!
Wags,
Sandy Weaver
The Voice of Wagaliciousness
PS...want more? Subscribe to the Mind, Body, Soul Sessions podcast, a weekly mental spa treatment for your total self! #podcast #success #leader #lawofattraction #personaldevelopment #mentalwellbeing