A Little Christmas Circle
After MaryAnn and I got married we became the family holiday cookie bakers. Her friend had given her a set of their family recipes for Italian cookies, and we used those along with a few we found online.That first Christmas we baked for everyone and from that point on we were the official bakers.
We kept it up for years until the pandemic stopped all the family gatherings, and at the same time MaryAnn began to decline. We gave baking up and once we could get together again it was easier to bring big trays of Italian cookies from the bakery. Over all those years we always put together a tin of cookies for our neighbor next door. She loved them whether we baked them or bought them. It was something special. Even as MaryAnn was declining she would still make sure we picked up a second container at the Leo’s deli and bakery so our neighbor would not be left out.
Eventually we could not go out to the stores anymore, so the tradition stopped. The other day I had the thought that this is the season when we would be giving our neighbor her cookies, but I had no idea how we could manage it.
Yesterday she rang our doorbell and handed us a container of cookies for MaryAnn, bought from Leo’s.
Sometimes the traditions we can no longer carry still find their way back to us.
Stefanos's Blog 