Cookie Bars for Christmas
Speaking of cookie bars …
I knew she loved them,
but when she requested this yummy-ness for a birthday gift,
then Christmas,
and yep, Mother’s Day too,
I sensed we had found a unique go-to
& my heart is sad today, wishing we had discovered this uncomplicated bond, a tad earlier.
I met her when I was 18,
nervous, I’m sure,
hoping she’d like me as much as I liked her son,
and as the memories of our first encounter cascade through my brain
walking into their, which eventually became ours …
somewhat intimidated by the quietness,
feeling a ramble ramble urgency to fill the silence,
happy when it was him and me, back in his car, driving to the noise of my family.
A wedding and children and cousins and gatherings and picnics and busy this and that’s came along, and those first day jitters were washed away and replaced by a comfortable mother-in-law / daughter-in-law relationship. I wouldn’t call us super close, but a solid affection, we shared. Coming from the family I was born into, it took me much too long to comprehend her sometimes distant vibe. I naively thought, all families were like mine, joined at the hip, involved in every day biz
with our infamous
but opposite in a lot of ways, Husband’s upbringing and mine were
& the older I get, the more I realize.
She’s been in my life for 48 years.
Consistent. Helpful. Decisive. Strong. Reliable.
and just knowing she was here, is what I will miss most.
It’s funny.
My favorite mantra, when trying to understand this woman called, Bertie, has always been
she’s a tough cookie to crack.
because, yes,
she was a woman of few words,
turns out, she didn’t need many.
& grateful I am, to her
and the simple recipe that became our forever connection.
♥ 🙂 ♥