Gwenly

Formerly known as “Traditions, Part 1”

I just attempted to bake little Christmas themed cakes. You know those holiday Little Debbie Christmas trees? Well, I was trying to make an imitation of those using some alternate ingredients, supposedly less calories, and guess what? They did not come out great. In fact, I hate them. The vision is just not coming together. I could go into all the things wrong with them and what I could have done differently, but I know that would just turn into a chaotic and messy rant.

I’ve been thinking a lot about Christmas traditions. Its hard not to around the holidays, especially when you’re preparing for another year where you will not be taking part in some specific traditions. I’ve been pretty good about not dwelling on this, but here we are.

Its two days before Christmas and I am thinking about being in Mom’s kitchen.

All the necessary ingredients to bake cookies are scattered about. The counter is coated in a thin layer of flour, bags of chocolate chips lay open beckoning you to steal a few, hands and arms are tired and cramping from the hand mixer, the sounds of The Santa Clause echo from the living room… Its hot, the oven has been on for hours. The windows are open to try and circulate that warmth out, but this is usually thwarted by the fact that we live in the Southwest. Still, the fresh air mingles with the smell of freshly baked bread, pies, and soon enough, the cookies.

Our usual suspects are chocolate chip, sugar cookie, and Spritz cookies. Once the cookies are all shaped, and Mom has gone to war with the Spritz cookie gun, they go into the oven under a watchful eye. Its a very important job, manning the oven, and we are notoriously not great at it. Distractions are inevitable, somehow we never consider setting a timer. That’s not to say that we burn the cookies, by the way, there are trays that just end up with a bit more crunch than others. Hey, some people enjoy a crunchy cookie too, so it works out.

Finally we sit around our beloved kitchen table and unleash sprinkle mayhem on the Sugar and Spritz cookies. Careful and thought out designs mixed in with chaotic and colorful mosaics… by now The Santa Clause 3 can be heard, or maybe even a family favorite, Annabelle’s Wish. (If you haven’t watched this classic, you’re missing out!). The finished cookies, all cooled and decorated, are sorted into holiday themed cookie containers, with two set aside for me to bring home. Some others might go to relatives or neighbors.

We have a lot of traditions we would do every year, just like any family. But I think this is one of my favorites, this night, the cookie baking night. It would always unfold just about the same way. There really is so much comfort in traditions that last.

I will be writing a part 2 in the coming days.

Thank you for reading, and, I’m happy you’re here.