Cookies are very important to our society. So much so that there is a monster named after them and are left for Santa on Christmas Eve. Today those little round circles of goodness were at the heart of a few Christmas miracles in our house.
Personally I can take or leave them but that is not the case with my hubby. I wouldn't go as far as calling him the Cookie Monster but he does enjoy them. Our first Christmas today was a special one for money was tight and my hubby requested nothing extravagant for Christmas. Not to be outdone by monetary restrictions, I decided that I would hand make some gifts. Once when we were with his family I overheard how much he loved ginger snaps and pfeffernusse cookies. It took me a few tries to find that cookie's proper spelling lol. So as part of his gifts I made him a couple dozen of both cookies and they were a huge success.
One of my pet peeves is having an appliance or tool that just doesn't do its job right and my Kitchenaid Mixer fit into that category. Despite its powerful attributes, I couldn't get over the fact that the head didn't tilt. It annoyed me enough that I didn't use the mixer and finally sold it shortly after I arrived in the US. It did sadden me to sell it but I promised myself someday that I would get another one. This morning I was making buns for dinner and I guess I was a little exuberant in my baking for I woke up my hubby. Luckily it wasn't that early so no harm was done. After he got up and moving he came into the kitchen and gave me a strange look like a kid on Christmas morning. Next thing you know my hubby disappears into the back bedroom and come out with this:
I was SO excited for the head tilts and it's exactly what I wanted! It was perfect timing for I was planning on making his cookies tomorrow. What a perfect opportunity to use it! What is miraculous about this is that I don't remember even telling him about this! Little did I know that the baking miracles had just started.
There was a special tradition with cookies between my hubby and my mother in law. There is a very popular bakery in Everett that make the best sugar cookies. Earlier this month my hubby was reflecting on Christmases past and remembered fondly how his mom got him cookies from that bakery every year. Through some serendipity a friend of mine was making a trip to Everett and she was able to pick him up a cookie; yes it was only one for that was all they had. My hubby was very touched by the gesture but the Universe was not finished with him yet. Today we had his step dad over for our Christmas dinner and in he walks in with a plate of those cookies. He remember that his late wife used to get those for my hubby and wanted to make sure he had them this year. It was a tender moment and I was thankful for the healing that was unfolding right before my eyes.
That was only a warm up to the next baking miracle that happened. Canadian chocolate is amazing and was something that my step dad and my mother in law coveted together. In fact every year we would get them a box of Purdy's chocolates and we would receive many messages of gratitude from them both. My hubby knew that there was a special gift that his mom used to buy his step dad every year and that was Rogers Empress Squares. His step dad would covet them so much that they would last way past the holiday season. My hubby got his siblings together and they all pitched in for a box of these luscious squares. So after we had eaten we sat around the fire just catching up and my hubby disappeared into the magic backroom again. This time he came out with a little red box. My step dad took one look at that box and choked right up. He looked at us with tears in his eyes and told us how he was so sad because he didn't think he would get a box of them this year with his wife gone. The tears streamed again when he left later that day when he was saying goodbye and thanked us for the beautiful day.
What an amazing day! We have seen today how love can transform people and relationships. My hope this Christmas is that you experience that love.
Today I can experience a Christmas miracle.