Comfort

I find comfort in all sorts of things. Salvation being the utmost comfort. While we were on vacation to the farm I was reminded of a childhood comfort that I had long since forgotten. We visited my grandparents (the visit was much too brief this time) and while we were there I noticed a tupperware container of party mix on the counter. Some people call it party trash or trail mix, but we called it party mix. It was a staple at my house growing up. My grandmother and great grandmother would come for lengthy stays and they made many a batches of the salty goodness. It always seemed to be there when I got home from school or on a Saturday afternoon. It was usually on the counter in a tupperware container or sometimes in zip-loc bags (the really big ones). I think my grandmothers froze it for my dad so he could pull it out after they returned home to Indiana. I usually picked out all the nuts and then the corn chex and then the pretzels. I saved the cheese puffs for last and I NEVER touched the cheerios or the dark chex mix.. yuck. My dad would get so mad at me for picking out the good stuff. He preferred that we scoop out a portion and eat what we chose. (he picked too while watching Notre Dame football or M.A.S.H.). When I saw the container at my grandma's childhood memories flooded my mind. Our house was always so clean when the grandmothers visited. My great grandmother would always perm my hair in at the kitchen table and she would talk non-stop. I could walk down the hall to my bedroom and still hear her talking to me from the kitchen sink. Grandma Sally would always take us shopping and we had to make a visit to Kroger. She loved Kroger. (I do too) Grandma Sally would give me manicures and sometimes paint my nails her signature pearl pink. I bit my nails back then so I didn't have much to paint. Both grandmothers would cook in the kitchen for days upon days and clean until their fingers were raw. (remember my dad was a single parent). My great grandmother would scare me to death because she would lie on her back with her arms spread out like an eagle in the sunlight of our living room floor. I always thought she had died. She would say, I'm not dead Shelly, just getting some sunshine. I loved having them in the house and hated when it was time for them to go. My grandmothers taught me so much and did so much for me that I took for granted. So back to our trip. We were about to leave to go to the fair and I snuck back inside, opened the tupperware container, took a big whiff and picked out a handful of the party mix. It brought me comfort and I've thought about it a dozen times since we've been home. Were going to spend this next week in Galveston (just me and the kids)so I made a great big batch of party mix for them. I left out the cheerios and dark chex mix and baked it tonight. Our whole house smells wonderful and I even have my great grandmothers tupperware container to store it in. I am so thankful for both of my grandmothers and the love they showed me growing up. I just let Hoot have a handfull of party mix and he said ohhhh yummy. This is the best! This is the sweetest. I have carefully preserved the small peice of masking tape with my great grandmothers name on it. I'm sure she carried this container to many socials and gatherings and this is how she identified her peice. She was a labeler too. I have two other containers that belonged to her and they have the same tape. I am so cautious when I wash them not to touch the tape. I hope this tape lasts forever! Pure comfort right on my counter!