Memorial BAKE

Once in awhile a girl just needs her mom. And since that can't physically happen, I try to find ways to connect with her. I have such wonderful memories of her. She was beautiful and funny. And she always knew the right things to say when I was sad.

Today, I had one of those mornings where nothing was going right. I was frustrated and I just wanted to yell out "I want my Mommy"!

I felt like beating something. Eggs and lard? Yep, that would work! So I went to the recipe box and picked out a recipe...it was time to BAKE.

My mom's Peanut Butter cookie recipe. I have not BAKED her PB cookie recipe in years. I had everything I needed to make the cookies right then and there. No making a list. No running to the grocery store. It was "a sign from above" that I should just BAKE the Peanut Butter cookies.

What a great connection! She loved to BAKE and I love to BAKE.

See the recipe in the picture? Well, a funny thing happened after that picture was taken...the recipe disappeared into thin air. Poof! It was gone! I looked everywhere. Top of the frig. Looked under the stove and in the oven. I went through the trash, twice. Retraced every step. Was I crazy? What happened to the recipe?

I looked up towards heaven and said "Mom, are you serious?" I even asked "where did you put the recipe, Mom?" I just knew she was looking down and laughing at me!

Then I remembered the picture! I turned to get the camera, turned back to write down the recipe and saw this...

Sticking out of the drawer was the beautiful recipe...I burst into tears!

So I mixed up the cookie batter, the whole time wondering how in the world did that recipe card get in that drawer which was 3 feet from the spot it was photographed. I laughed that I cried. I BAKED those cookies. They are exactly the way I remember them. I think I did my mom proud. I loved that I felt her with me as I BAKED today. On Memorial Day.

I loved that I could share the cookies that I BAKED with my niece and nephew at Como Zoo today.

As a kid I loved the Zoo. My mom took my sister, brother and I there all the time. Como Zoo was, and still is, a free zoo except for the rides. So, for a widow with 3 kids, it was inexpensive.

We loved the Zoo. I loved the Carousal. My brother loved the boats and my sister loved the Tilt-o-Whirl.

Today, I rode the Carousal and it seemed to go alot faster than 40 years ago!

I know what the true meaning of Memorial Day is, but on this Memorial Day, I remembered my mom and how she loved to take us to the Zoo.

I remembered that she loved to BAKE and that the cookies she BAKED and the recipes she left me stand the test of time. It felt really good to feel her with me today. Memorial Day.