Both of my grandmothers had special dishes I simply enjoyed. They just threw it together without any plan or thought, and the ending was always perfect. I never remember them apologizing because it didn’t turn out the way they expected or that they were missing a key ingredient.
They always seemed to just know what to do to make it work!
My dad’s mother, Grandma Gurley, always made bread pudding! Yes. It was for everyone, but when she knew I was coming without everyone else, she always made some just for me. My mom’s mother, Grandmother Simmons, had a special chocolate cake! White hard frosting. With Pecans strategically placed.
Regardless of where you were,
if these dishes showed up,
you knew you had their best!
My Grandma passed away the weekend she was going to teach me how to make bread pudding. I’m sure now that the best-tasting bread pudding I will ever taste is that last one back in the late 70s, and it is, in my mind, the tastiest dish she could have ever made. Just for me.
My Grandmother passed away in 1993, and though I will never have her chocolate cake again, she left behind a surprise in all her personal belongings as we sifted through the remnants of her life. She left behind recipes! In a special box! With her writing…her handwriting!
The Joy of the Find!
A Treasure Trove of memories!
Now… I’m sure she had those regular recipe boxes that everyone else had. But at some point, she decided that an NBA Basketball Shoe Box made much more sense! Inside are clippings from magazines, snail mail recipes she traded with family and friends, and covering the box, inside and out, top, bottom, and sides, are her handwritten recipes. A treasure! Will I ever make any of them? Well, I have. Will I ever make all of them? I doubt it.
But there is something special about holding on to something with her personal touch on every corner. It was seemingly her “go-to” place for ideas on cooking her next meal. Listen. I do not ever remember her using this box, and I’m not sure how old the box might be, but in my mind, I can imagine her pulling it down from a shelf and perusing through, looking for something special to cook for special people.
As I looked at various recipes, something struck me as unusual. At least for today’s crowd. Everything she made was from ingredients she kept on the shelf, ready to use. Seasonings. Spices. And other goodies. And if she didn’t have it handy, then she probably had an alternative in mind that would make for an even more interesting dish.
Too much of what we do today is a pre-mix package of similar ingredients packaged at a factory, and all we do is add water, milk, heat… Presto!
Here is my thought for today.
I think it’s important to hold on to special treasures like this for the rest of your life! They mean something. If to no one else, they mean something to you alone. The next generation will not respect it as you do. It means nothing to them, perhaps because they did not know the person as you did, so it means a lot to you.
What to do? Work hard on holding on to those mementos from a prior time. Enjoy them. Savor them as you would a great cup of coffee specially made for you. A day will come when what is important to you will only represent the detritus, the rubble left behind for someone else to choose to treasure or toss. What you treasure now can still be enjoyed by future generations.
Someday.
Someday my life will be over.
My treasure trove left behind.
Nothing more than leftovers to some,
Meant to be tossed and lost to time.
But if there is anything I’ve learned,
On this road that we call life,
Those that yearn for something from before,
Will dig through and perhaps find
A particular treasure for them
Just waiting to be found.
Enjoyed and shared.
Can you hear them say, That’s Mine!
~Michael Gurley
What treasure are you leaving behind? I want to leave something of visible value and hidden nuggets to be searched out.
Here’s a nugget you do not have to wait until I’m gone to unravel.
My bride and I are headed for longevity, and I wish that how we learned to do it will be a treasure for someone else to discover. We do not fight; perhaps the good thing is that we never learned to think fighting over something was how to handle an issue. Get upset? Sure. Have trouble dealing with something? Yep. Do not know what to do next? All the time…. But somewhere in our past, it just sort of worked out that our friendship was valued, and we would never fight.
Or, how about something hidden but in plain sight that is a treasure trove that anyone can have? Here’s my hint…. Could you imagine me singing it to you…
I have a wonderful treasure;
Given from God without measure;
We will travel together;
My Bible and I.
Mom and Dad have passed some of their treasures to the kids. I wish I had my mom’s bible I remember so much as a kid… Equally, my bride and I have already passed our measured treasure onward in life to the kids, and who knows, someday they must just pick up the volumes, thumb through the pages, and find their own nugget to share forward.
What are your treasures? We all have them. Will they mean something to the future? Think about it. Go ahead. Share!