The Ribbon in My Journal – Phyllis Hoffman DePiano

Make Every Day as Special as You Can

I hope your 2020 has started off with great joy and happiness. We have all made our New Year’s resolutions I am sure, but mine have changed during the years. Oh, yes—I have started 45 diets and resolved to get organized in my sewing room, but as years have passed, my resolutions have changed.

During the Christmas season, my son Brian, who is the founding editor of our Bake from Scratch magazine, always bakes cookies. This year he recreated my dad’s Fruitcake Cookie recipe and brought them to all of us to enjoy. It was very interesting that he had them in a cookie tin my mom had used for years. It is a cute tin resembling a merry-go-round. Mom and Dad had received this filled with a fruit cake inside and kept the cute tin.

When I asked about it, he told me that Mom had given it to him. Brian always knew at Christmas when the cookie tin came out it meant goodies inside. Mom said she was not baking anymore, and he could have it. He has loved that since he was a child, and he now treasures not only the container but the magical memories he had as a young boy.

I thought about this a lot as a new year has started. One of my resolutions is to make every day as special as I can. When the grandchildren come, I want to have special dishes or containers that they will associate with fun times as they grow older. It doesn’t have to be an expensive item, but one they will remember as something Gigi used when they were at my house. I want it to represent a glorious time of laughter and fun around the table.

I don’t believe in saving anything for a special occasion, as every day we live is special, and our friends and family are the most special. This year I am going to focus on the little things that make each day unique, and I want my grandchildren to have wonderful memories.

Do you have a treasured item that represents great moments in your life?