Making Cookies... and Memories

The other night, Lynn was baking cookies. On top of her two full time jobs-- teaching at Denbigh High School and putting up with me, she still had time to bake cookies for us to give away when we go out visiting. (Of course, I did my part by eating a few just to make sure they were fit to give away! ) To fully understand why baking cookies was significant enough that I'm writing about it, you need to understand that we have been on the Atkins diet for the last three plus years. Snacks for us have been pork rinds and globs of lard! (Actually, we've had low-carb ice cream, which really isn't too bad). So homemade cookies was really a special and exotic treat!

But as good as they were, the cookies themselves were not what stands out for me. As I was enjoying the smell of baking cookies wafting throughout the house, the aroma triggered a flashback. For just a split second, I heard little giggling voices, the sounds of feet running through the house, and little girls begging to eat the cookie dough before it was baked. The smell of cookies present triggered memories of cookies past… and just for a second the house seemed rather empty. Why can such pleasant memories make you sad at the same time!

Bob Hope used to sing, “Thanks for the memories.” Pleasant memories of the past are important, and they have made Kodak a lot of money. But we need to realize is that today, the present, right now-- we are making memories for our future. The only way we can have pleasant memories one day in the future is by living life to its fullest right now. Solomon said, “Don’t long for ‘the good old days,’ for you don’t know whether they were any better than today.” (Eccl 7:10, NLT). What are you going to do today? Why not make some cookies… and some memories?