When Food Evokes a Special Memory.

I heard a story about a recent college graduate. She moved from Michigan to NYC for her first full-time career job. When her birthday came, she felt sad missing her family, but a newly made friend took her out to brunch at a trendy Greenwich Village restaurant.

She ordered the boysenberry pancakes, because they sounded so unusual. Upon taking her first bite, she cried and felt embarrassed, as she couldn’t contain her tears. Returning to her apartment, she called her mother, who wished her a happy birthday and admitted the crying scene. Her mother paused and then explained that her great-grandmother used to babysit her and on special weekends always made boysenberry pancakes. While having no visual memory of her great grandmother, the young woman, had kept the “taste” experience that flooded her with loving emotions that morning.

Food can bring forth many memories of family gatherings and special events that have affected our lives in meaningful ways which happened to me when some friends returning from Dutch Antiqua brought a gift for my husband and I. When I opened it I squealed with delight.

“Well, we didn’t know this would make you so happy,” they replied. It was a gift of a beautiful memory, one I hadn’t visited in a very long time. Chocolate sprinkles instantly transported me to Amsterdam Holland where I did a college semester abroad.

I found out that the RA (resident assistant) had announced our arrival this way. “I have good and bad news. The good news is we have three girls coming to our dorm floor. The bad news is they are all Americans.”  Wow… at 19 I had no idea how Americans were viewed and this was in 1977!

The other two American “girls” and I became fast friends, and we eventually won the guys over. At first, I think it was because we cleaned the kitchen. One of my friends, Judy, was of Dutch heritage and she invited me for a visit to her aunt’s home. I welcomed the opportunity, but didn’t know we were going to paint walls all weekend. It was well worth it for the hospitality and the home cooking.

After a long day, we settled in a beautiful wood beamed guest room. Her aunt draped the two beds with the lightest fluffy down comforters. I’ll never forget the feeling of slipping under such a luxurious spread, like sleeping under the puffiest cloud. Because of our vigorous work, we fell fast asleep. Being a teenager, we slept in until Judy’s aunt called out in a lovely old-fashioned voice, “Goedemorgen.” My Dutch, by that time, was decent. She easily handed each of us a tray to eat breakfast in bed! Another first for me.

What a surprise! I giggled for the joy of it. She festooned the tray with all different goodies. A big glass of fresh orange juice, some fresh yogurt (that is a staple in the Dutch diet) tea, and two round, thick crackers, I later learned, were called Beschuit Rusk.

Smeared with butter and heavily decorated with chocolate sprinkles, I enthusiastically took my first bite. Chocolate for breakfast? “Hagleslag” or Chocolate Hail. Judy said it was a daily fare for children going to school and a quick breakfast for mothers. And while they look nearly identical to US sprinkles, these actually taste of delicious deep rich chocolate.

Breakfast made for a queen included eating under the luxurious down comforter, the beautiful wood room with views out to a forest and chocolate!

Certainly, an effort to bring us the trays, but for her aunt it was a normal breakfast, but I never forgot how special she made me feel.

And when I saw the box of Hagleslag, I nearly shed a tear. Has anyone ever made you feel so special? Has food triggered a memory for you? Would love to hear about it.

It made me think about what memories I can make for others.

And today don’t we need to make wonderful memories. One’s that will bring joy.

Bon appetite!

“They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share” 1 Timothy 6:18