I am blessed, so crazily blessed it scares me sometimes. I have this really cool husband who works his tail off (but he does love his job so it's not too much work) to give his family a really great life full of wonderful experiences and moments. He is, by far, the most generous person I have ever met and he is the master of picking out gifts. I think he loves Christmas more than I do, and I know nothing gives him more pleasure than to see the joy on someones face when they open the gift he selected for them. Although he may not like it, he's a lot like my mom. Always thinking about others, thinking about the expression when they open that special gift, the joy of the holiday.
Don't get me wrong. Two more different people you could not find. Mimi and Pete clashed quite frequently over the years. But they clashed for the exact same reason - loving me. Mom wanted the best for me and so did Pete. He went about it in a way that didn't quite fit Mom's formula, but he did it all the same and he did it his way. Pete has provided for me and our three beautiful children an amazing life. Mom didn't quite get that at the outset. He was a trader, unconventional in his mode of providing. He went back to business school with an 11-month and a nagging wife (yep, that's me). But he did, and he kicked ass along the way. And, he provided for our kids an outstanding example of work ethic and ambition, which I know they will embody as they embark on their own careers.
Mom was hard on Pete, really hard. I am the oldest, first married, first to have a grandchild - blah, blah, blah. And Mom fulfilled the role of the stoic, hard-ass, Irish mother-in-law. She did not cut him one damn break. But in her last few days, she told me how proud she was of the family we had and the life we had built. She told me she did not need to worry about me and Pete. I knew it was in there, she just liked to give him a hard time.
But here's the twist - I'm not so sure Pete would have had it any other way. He always loved the challenge and Mom sure provided one for him. Hell, he could have given her the Canary Diamond and she would have some snarky comment about how it didn't match her earrings. But, I know they loved each other. I know they respected each other. And I know this because I am the one thing they had in common. Kind of a special gift to each of them, huh?
Melting Moments (World's Most Tedious Holiday Cookies)
Cookie:
2 cups flour
3/4 cup butter
1/4 cup butter flavored Crisco
2 Tbsp powdered sugar
1/2 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp almond extract
Filling:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp butter
dash vanilla extract
milk added a little at a time until right consistency
Preheat oven to 350.
Mix all ingredients for cookies together to form dough. Refrigerate to make dough easier to work with. Roll into small 1/2" balls, flatten with fork and bake for 10 minutes.
Mix all ingredients for filling and sandwich between cookies. You can add food coloring to the filling if you like.
