Memories that Span Time

Holidays -Oversize Panties - and - Black Walnut Fudge


Since this is a time of sharing...........Here are a couple of Christmas memories......I pull them to the fore,,,,shaking off the dust of time....,, from long ago.... at what seemed a very different life style from now....My mother was a "Christmas Person"...... she looked forward to it with joy all year long....In December 0f 1977 her life came to its earthly end......And she had been unable to complete the labeling and mailing of all the gifts........That she had accumulated all year.......For various family members, sons, daughters, sister, brothers, grandchildren......There were forty some gifts with only a few already having a name tag.....I flew cross country to attend her services.........the weather was nasty, cold and sleety at the interment ...Such a sad time.....and I had to immediately catch a flight back and in fact.......Caught the last plane out of O'Hare before the airport was closed down because of the blizzard and icing conditions.......Fortunately, for me, I had companionship on the return because a group of engineers with whom we had business and professional connections to.........Were booked on that flight and understood my emotional mood and did their best to empathize......That helped tremendously......After I had been home a number of days, I received a package in the mail from Mom......The local family members had decided to mail the gifts........Simply put an address on and mailed without trying to determine who was to get what........When I opened the package - my mother's presence was so immediate.......And then I broke out into a smile and then a chuckle........The gift I received was a pair of XXXL panties......About twenty sizes too big for me.......The imagination quickly clicked in as I could mentally see all those other packages bringing similar reactions when the recipients opened them. And mother's love of sharing at Christmas brought me out of the gloom of losing her. And the story is not yet over......My father was more or less just an observer to all this activity for Christmas that mother savored.But a couple of years later I received a package from my dad.......I thought perhaps he had found more presents stashed away in a closet or.......But no........He had gone out at the proper time in the fall, black walnut harvesting.........And made my favorite candy, black walnut fudge.........And every Christmas for about ten years.....I would get this same gift from my dad......A guy who never did a thing domestically before except to enjoy my mother's cooking and baking expertise.....I would receive the homemade black walnut fudge.......And the last time.......He simply mailed it wrapped in the 8 x 8 aluminum pan in which he had poured and cut it.......And even though I am quite an elderly lady.......I still miss my parents at Christmas........


graysmoke