Small Thoughts
My grandmother passed away recently. I've written about her before. She's been a great inspiration in my life. Her funeral was Thursday, I had a chance to see many relatives and friends whom I haven't seen in ages. My mother and uncle both had great speeches at the service. Their words inspired this posting.
Somewhere, at one point, someone decided to sculpt a lemon into a cookie jar. They must have caught on, and were purchased by many. They also must have been an item which some folks decided would be better placed at a rummage sale. According to my father, that is where this lemon cookie jar was found. Cost: less than one dollar.
Every morning, a huge group of people rise, get dressed and go to work at the Chips Ahoy cookie factory. They make a zillion cookies. They get shipped all over the world. They're just cookies. You've seen them at the store. Probably even bought them.
Just a cookie jar.
Just some cookies.
A whole group of people who mass produced cookies and one cookie jar have probably never met this one woman who somehow made a jar full of cookies a symbol of love and caring. In addition to my grandmother having lived through every major tragedy and triumph of the 20th century, and lived through her own tragedies and triumphs, she had the ability to make a simple cookie jar magical.
Ask any one of her grandchildren. Or any guest to her house.
I've talked before about the power of small, doing small things that can have a huge impact on people. My grandmother was really good with that. In fact many of the folks at her funeral reminisced about playing cards, doing a jigsaw puzzle, going on walks, cooking dinner...a whole range of activities, all fairly simple. My grandmother didn't make tasks complicated, or make a big deal about life. If something bad happened, it happened, and she rolled with it. Even her waning days, she rolled with it.
To my family, cousins, aunts, uncles, extended family I used to see at Christmas Eve, the up North relatives I used to see almost every summer as a kid, and the friends of my grandmother I say to you, look at the small things that reminds us of the joy of life, look at how to do small things for people, for yourself that bring them the joy of life.
Find that lemon cookie jar, fill it with cookies, and let the world share in your kindness.
pb
Somewhere, at one point, someone decided to sculpt a lemon into a cookie jar. They must have caught on, and were purchased by many. They also must have been an item which some folks decided would be better placed at a rummage sale. According to my father, that is where this lemon cookie jar was found. Cost: less than one dollar.
Every morning, a huge group of people rise, get dressed and go to work at the Chips Ahoy cookie factory. They make a zillion cookies. They get shipped all over the world. They're just cookies. You've seen them at the store. Probably even bought them.
Just a cookie jar.
Just some cookies.
A whole group of people who mass produced cookies and one cookie jar have probably never met this one woman who somehow made a jar full of cookies a symbol of love and caring. In addition to my grandmother having lived through every major tragedy and triumph of the 20th century, and lived through her own tragedies and triumphs, she had the ability to make a simple cookie jar magical.
Ask any one of her grandchildren. Or any guest to her house.
I've talked before about the power of small, doing small things that can have a huge impact on people. My grandmother was really good with that. In fact many of the folks at her funeral reminisced about playing cards, doing a jigsaw puzzle, going on walks, cooking dinner...a whole range of activities, all fairly simple. My grandmother didn't make tasks complicated, or make a big deal about life. If something bad happened, it happened, and she rolled with it. Even her waning days, she rolled with it.
To my family, cousins, aunts, uncles, extended family I used to see at Christmas Eve, the up North relatives I used to see almost every summer as a kid, and the friends of my grandmother I say to you, look at the small things that reminds us of the joy of life, look at how to do small things for people, for yourself that bring them the joy of life.
Find that lemon cookie jar, fill it with cookies, and let the world share in your kindness.
pb
posted by Peter Brooks at 7:44 PM
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