Ten Cookies I Took From Grama's Cookie Tins

Lots of grandmas have cookie jars...they fill them with cookies and offer them to their grandchildren when they come to visit. At MY grandma's house there are cookie tins filled with her cookies...the same ones all the time...chocolate chip, nut and raisin, chocolate drops, and orange cookies. She calls them "millhonk cookies" because she doesn't consider them to be pretty, decorative, or ornate. She always puts them in front of us reluctantly, as if she is embarrassed that they wouldn't be up for a Baker of the Year Award. These millhonk cookies are baked for her grandchildren and family with love, and when we come to visit, she shares them with us. They please the tastebuds and please the stomach, and no one really ever minds whether or not they please the eyes.

 

Although the millhonk cookies will always be a memory of my grandma's house, I'd like to think of those cookie tins filled with cookies as a representation of MY Grama Lou filled with love. The REAL cookies I have taken from Grama's cookie tins cannot be tasted, and certainly can't be seen. The "cookies" I speak of are the lessons I have learned from her example. Grama Lou always points out how ordinary her life is. She is a homebody who enjoys knitting and quilting. Ordinary or not, some of the best lessons I have learned in life have been from my Grama Lou's example.

 

Below I will share only "Ten Cookies I Took From Grama's Cookie Tins". I think it's probably safe to say that ALL of her grandchildren have tasted these "cookies" and maybe even other "cookies" too!

 

1. To love unconditionally. Grama Lou loves her family with all her heart, regardless of people's mistakes, inadequacies, etc. She takes genuine interest in each person's interests, hobbies, and life. She is there when we need her, lending her support and advice, but never trying to control anyone's life. She is accepting of our differences and loves us all the same! We are greeted with open arms and a HUGE hug every time we see her.

 

2. To find your passion, dedicate yourself to it, and use it to do good works. Grama Lou is a knitter and a quilter. She has made quilts (more than one) for ALL of her grandchildren and other members of our extended family, and even friends of family members. She makes quilts for sick children in hospitals, and she makes quilts for the homeless. She knits baby booties for a non-profit charity, called Gifts for the Unborn, that she and her brother run together. To date, Grama Lou has knitted THOUSANDS of booties for this charity.

 

3. To laugh your way through life. Grama Lou laughs at everything! Even when something serious arises, she has a way of laughing about it and looking at the bright side. She laughs so hard that she brings herself to tears, and this in and of itself causes others around her to join her in her laughing fits. She has the ability to laugh at herself, and she allows us to laugh at/with her, too. Visits with Grama Lou are guaranteed to include many hours of laughter.

 

4. To hold a certain level of dignity and grace in your day to day life. Grama Lou is a lady. She doesn't like to go out without lipstick. She makes sure her shoes match her purse. She likes her nails to be properly polished, and she doesn't leave the house without running a comb through her hair. She is well spoken, polite, and very tactful. Yet, there is nothing aloof or uppity about her.

 

5. To be strong in YOUR faith. Grama Lou is very strong in her own faith. It seems as though she has prayed a 54 day novena for everyone in the family at some point in her life. The example here is not so much a matter of WHAT faith to choose, but a matter of being strong in whatever your faith may be.

 

6. To do your best and to do what's right in all your roles of life. Grama Lou is a wonderful daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, aunt, great-aunt, cousin, friend, citizen, and PERSON! She cannot break a rule. She is honest and open, and always makes good choices.

 

7. To lend a helping hand when you are able to. Grama Lou has helped her children and grand-children financially whenever she is willing and able and whenever it is really needed. Her helping hand is generous and sincere, with no expectations for receiving something in return.

 

8. To share stories of your life with others. Grama Lou is full of stories from her life. As her family members, we often have heard the same stories several times....classic Grama Lou stories! She has stories that are happy, depressing, ironic, unbelievable, funny, heartfelt, and more. Whenever we visit Grama Lou she wants to hear our stories too. We can't think of Grama Lou without hearing her say "Do you have any stories? Tell me your stories".

 

9. To carry on family traditions and traditions in general. Grama Lou carries on family traditions as much as possible. Holidays are filled with the same meals and same activities from year to year. She has shared stories of past relatives and their holiday traditions to keep the memories of their lives known in the family. It is important to know family history, who we are, and who we come from. Family traditions are something to cherish.

 

10. To enjoy the fun times of life, because they're few and far between. Most of life is the nitty gritty. Grama Lou speaks this phrase every time we are about to part from a fun-filled visit. She perhaps was not the first one to speak this phrase, but she has adopted it as her own and used it several times over. There is so much truth to it, and it crosses my mind whenever I am in the midst of a highlight in my life, that only lasts for so long. She reminds us to enjoy those moments that we are looking forward to most, because the reality is that those moments only take place once in a while.

 

These are lessons I will take with me throughout my life. They are lessons learned from my Grama Lou's example. Although I am guilty of taking numerous cookies from her cookie tins, I am more guilty of trying to live out the lessons I have taken from Grama Lou's example. THIS WEDNESDAY, April 20th is her birthday, and I am writing this to celebrate who she is. She is the matriarch of our family, and she has taught us so many things about life through her own.

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRAMA LOU! You always say you get to share your birthday with Hitler! It's a big shame that the whole world is aware of his terrible example, and only a lucky few people are familiar with your amazing example of the human spirit.

 

THANK YOU for all the cookies! :)