Aprons on, buttered hands at the ready. The wax paper squares are cut and stacked neatly. My sisters in law and I move into position around Grandma’s kitchen table. We are ready. Bring it on!
A true labor of love, Grandma spends a lot of time over her stove to create these tasty morsels of heavenly goodness. Standing at a height of under 5 feet, she literally has to stand on a wooden stool to reach over the deep, heavy pot and stir the bubbling confection as it cooks. It is a lot of work, but she insists on doing it. That candy contains so much more than sugar, cream, butter, etc., it contains love and lots of it! That knowledge makes each morsel even more delicious.
After it has cooked to perfection, my mother in law helps Grandma handle the deep, heavy pot to pour the mouthwatering golden brown thick syrup onto the buttered cookie sheets. Grandma then puts the cookie sheets on the steps leading upstairs where they will cool at just the right speed. After a significant amount of time, she deems them ready to be cut and wrapped.
That is where the rest of us spring into action. Grandma plops down cookie sheet after cookie sheet of the cooled, ooey, gooey, melt-in-your-mouth deliciousness. She has them cut and ready. We simply need to roll each piece carefully and wrap them in wax paper.
We all dig in. Roll, wrap, twist, repeat. The sequence goes on and on. As the old saying goes, “Many hands make light work.” Before we know it, we have several large bowls heaped high with wrapped candies. Grandma takes the bowls and begins filling plastic bags with their contents. These will go to various family members and friends. Some she puts into decorative bowls to sit around the house. Family members will enjoy these nuggets of love and goodness throughout the holiday season. Thank you, Grandma, for your labor of love and this sweet, sweet remembrance.