The Butterfly Net

A typical Sunday. Stacey, David and kids have gone. A quiet day of Joe and David watching football, Stacey and Micah making Pizzelles and other Christmas goodies in the kitchen and mom sitting at the end of the table coloring. "Pizzelles" is the key word today. You all know that our family has made them for years! All of us in the kitchen smelling anise and eating the broken ones. Remember the waffle iron that had to be held over the burner on the gas stove? The timing of the turn was crucial. In our house, it was a "Hail Mary" on one side and another after the flip of the long handled iron. The soft pizzelle was laid on a cloth on the round kitchen table and after cooling would be stacked in piles of 12. They would be hidden and brought out on a plate of goodies over the holidays when people visited. With the purchase of an electric iron, the event went more quickly but was no less a contribution to our holidays over the years. Now my daughters all have electric pizzelle irons. Today we made them here. For all but a few moments of engagement with Stacey, Mom ignored everyone but the dog. The exchange came when mom found the empty box to my iron on the floor by the front closet - near where she sits. She "trolled" into the kitchen and confronted Stacey about what she was doing. Stacey told her she was making pizzelles and invited her participation. Somewhere in there Stacey had to reassure mom that mom's iron was in the front closet. Mom insisted that it was not there, the box was empty. Stacey took her there and gently showed her that her iron was there AND in the box. Mom picked up her pizzelle iron and went back to face Stacey with direction that she was not to use her iron and then went to hide it in her room.

Bittersweet moments like this are common this Holiday Season. I think my sisters would agree that we each re-enact a number of Christmas memories and traditions that we grew up. All of them because Mom did them. Pizzelles, Biscotti, Braciola, "pocket cookies". Today, pieces of these times are part of her disconnected world but are not easily to be shared with us.