Life certainly has a funny way about it. It keeps going on whether you acknowledge it or not. Then something happens and you think to yourself, how did we get here? My grandma passed away last week and so I spent the days leading up to her funeral looking back at her life as well as mine. Who was she besides my dad's mom and my grandma? I'm not out to garner pity or condolences but rather understanding.
It turns out that Grandma self-identified as keeper of family history, so she saved and stored a great number of mementos in the form of pictures, letters, newspaper clippings, jewelry, and recipes. I only knew about perhaps 25% of things she had kept and was shocked to uncover so much more. She left it hiding in drawers and cabinets almost as though she knew that one day when she wasn't around we would all finally realize its value.
Last night, I began shuffling through her personal collection of recipes and finally appreciating just how important it was to her to stay connected with family members and traditions. Each recipe not only contains the name of a dish but also the name of the person who provided it. Chocolate Cream Dessert & Peanut Butter Parfait from sister, Lael; Pasta with Sugar Snap Peas, Asparagus, and Parmesan from niece, Jan; Tangy Meat Balls from sister-in-law, Marian; even directions for how to remove a deep splinter from her mother, my great grandmother, Hattie.
I can't possible shuffle through every single recipe in this hand painted box without thinking of attempting at least a few of them. I've not seen the movie Julie & Julia but I know the basic premise and am strongly considering applying it to my own life. What could I learn from making at least a few of these recipes? I'll let you know when I find out!
