Footprints

Today’s post is not so much about the recipe but more the post-Mother’s Day reflection. Although I do give you a good peanut butter cookie recipe at the end!

Today’s post is about the footprints we make in each others lives.

A while back on one of my posts about my grand kids, someone commented about the footprint I was making in their lives.

That comment really gave me pause – what is my footprint? How have I affected and influenced others? How will they remember me? Have I left a significant imprint on their soul?

Last week, I watched my 5 year old grandson. Oh sure, I could have parked him in front of the Wii or TV – instead we went shopping for his Mom’s Mother’s Day present and his Grandpa’s birthday present. Oh, the conversation was lively, innocent and precious! Along the way, I took him to the bathroom, cut his food and reminded him to chew slowly. It was a special day that I hope I left a footprint on his life.

This morning, I watched my Mom for the morning to give my Dad a break. I took her to the bathroom, cut her food and reminded her to chew slowly.  Mom suffers from dementia and it’s a challenge to keep her in the moment sometimes. Oh sure, I could have parked her in front of the TV this morning. Instead, I whipped up a batch of peanut butter cookies and thought it would be fun to make cookies together. We haven’t done that in 50 years! (seriously!)

I whipped up the batch before I left the house and showed up with all my cookie pans, spatulas and racks.

All we had to do is roll them and imprint them with a criss-cross of the fork.

Take nothing for granted. What she taught me 50 years ago was a struggle but we came through it beautifully!

I brought out her old rusted cookie sheets and said, “oh if these cookie sheets could talk…” and she replied, “oh, if you only knew how many people I feed with these cookie sheets.”

That was her footprint.

That is why I do this blog.

To keep the memory of her gift alive and pass it down before it becomes a struggle for me.

Before I give you the recipe, I’d like to give you one more gift. This was floating around Facebook and when I read it, it turned my head and heart around.

Letter from a Mother to a Daughter:

“My dear girl, the day you see I’m getting old, I ask you to please be patient, but most of all, try to understand what I’m going through. If when we talk, I repeat the same thing a thousand times, don’t interrupt to say: “You said the same thing a minute ago”… Just listen, please. Try to remember the times when you were little and I would read the same story night after night until you would fall asleep. When I don’t want to take a bath, don’t be mad and don’t embarrass me. Remember when I had to run after you making excuses and trying to get you to take a shower when you were just a girl? When you see how ignorant I am when it comes to new technology, give me the time to learn and don’t look at me that way… remember, honey, I patiently taught you how to do many things like eating appropriately, getting dressed, combing your hair and dealing with life’s issues every day… the day you see I’m getting old, I ask you to please be patient, but most of all, try to understand what I’m going through. If I occasionally lose track of what we’re talking about, give me the time to remember, and if I can’t, don’t be nervous, impatient or arrogant. Just know in your heart that the most important thing for me is to be with you. And when my old, tired legs don’t let me move as quickly as before, give me your hand the same way that I offered mine to you when you first walked. When those days come, don’t feel sad… just be with me, and understand me while I get to the end of my life with love. I’ll cherish and thank you for the gift of time and joy we shared. With a big smile and the huge love I’ve always had for you, I just want to say, I love you… my darling daughter. “

Here’s the recipe.