Accepting the Cookies

If you browse the web, you are very familiar with the term cookies.  The cookies are those little bots webmasters place in our browser to make our website experience friendly.  Mainly, they want us to find what we are seeking and many more things they would like us to buy or read.  Some cookies also can be used for pernicious purposes.

Since it's less than ten days until Christmas I wish to consider the traditional cookies from my childhood days.  The kind of cookie that didn't track me, but the kind that attracted me with their tantalizing taste and smell.  Perhaps, some of the current computer terminology was lifted from those simpler times because I believe my mom could track me when I pilfered the cookies she left to cool on the countertop.  

My photo for the week came to me from my good friend Tom, a fellow grumpy old photographer, a weekly coffee buddy, and a proud first time grandpa.  When I saw this photo, I asked for his permssion to use it in this holiday series that I have named, "Its Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas".  (For more on what this photo series is about, check out last week's blog.)  

When I saw this photo, I clearly saw a love story in it -- a love that will transcend this batch of Christmas cookies and the small bits of raw dough consumed in their making.  I liked the way that grandma and grandson are nearly embraced with her face so near his face as if she were sharing a secret.  Her hands are important supporting details within this love story. Grandma's older hands, dusted with flour, placed atop of her grandchild's small hands to teach the nuances of rolling cookie dough while likely limiting the amount of raw sugar dough he consumed.  Mothers and grandmothers possess this common magical charm in their ability to multi-task in such ways.

The Christmas season is a time where we can experience many different kinds of joy.  There is joy in attending a Christmas parade, a holiday light display or a symphony performance where our senses are ignited and explode into a shout of joy that screams wow.  This kind of joy requires a minimum personal investment.

There are also quiet joyful  moments that culminate in a softer wow that warms the heart and inspires both gratitude and contentment. These personal moments usually require a personal investment and can often appear spontaneously.  Best of all, these are the moments we carry for weeks afterward and often for the rest of our lives.  

In these days when "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas", my wish for you is that you experience both kinds of joy.  Make time to accept and cherish those cookies which leave you feeling like Christmas throughout the year.