COOKIE DAY

 

Eight or ten years ago I accomplished a life long dream and had a piece published in a national magazine. 

The excitement of having a professional photographer come out to the house to take pictures and to finally see my name in print was slightly overshadowed by the reality that they reduced my story to a very small paragraph...but I was proud non the less.

AT THE END OF THE DAY...I thought this Christmas I would share the full story as it was written by me.

            It's the Christmas season again: lights and tinsel, parties and music, shopping and crowds, and stuck right in the middle, my birthday.  When I was a child, my birthday consisted of getting one of the presents from under the tree and choosing what was served for dinner.  As the years slipped by, my birthday became just another busy day in a busy holiday schedule.  Then I became a grandmother and my birthday became very special.

            December 21 is now cookie day.  The smell of sugar cookies, fudge, and peanut brittle, and the sound of Christmas songs and giggles fill the house.  With bright colored frosting and sprinkles, cookie cutters and unrestrained imaginations, the children make purple reindeer, green Santas, and rainbow-colored angels.  They crush candy canes with a big rubber mallet to sprinkle on candy cane cookies.  By the time they have stuck their fingers in the last batch of cookie dough, licked the final fudge pan, and eaten as many cookies hot out of the oven as they can hold, there is flour, frosting, and cookie sprinkles smeared on the table, the floor, and all over happy faces.

            The final ritual of the day is hanging each child's special ornament.  Every year, I buy an ornament for each of the children and paint their name and the year on the back.  The tree is decorated before cookie day, but these special ornaments always get hung on December 21.  When the children are grown and move out on their own, I will give each of them their box of ornaments and a cookbook with pictures and cookie recipes.  Then I can sit back and relax and remember how special my birthday became after I became a grandmother.