I hadn’t noticed them up there in the branches. Not until a bit of the pink fluff landed on my shoulder as I was walking in the woods today.  It’s that time of year again, when the mimosa trees are blooming.

My love-hate relationship with the pink puffs started when I was given the childhood chore of cleaning them off our patio. As pretty as the blossoms were on the tree, they stained the patio brown and wouldn’t allow themselves to be swept up for anything.

Thankfully, the Arboretum’s wooded trail provides a perfect landing spot for this season’s pastel flowers to float onto.

Seeing them in a little pile of pinkness transported me into another memory…one that actually mattered back then in 1950-something…and still does.

Her normally white kitchen was a blur of pink. Aunt Rebena (one of my Mom’s 3 older sisters) had invited me over for a day of candy making. It wasn’t a holiday or any specific occasion that required baking and I was the only one to have been singled out for this. Just the two of us spending time together having fun made it memorable and left me feeling so special!

We would be using her recipe for pink divinity. By we, I mean she. I was so mesmerized by the sights and smells that I was of little help in the mixing, heating, and dolloping-out-to-cool process. (If you’d like to see a lovely but copyrighted photo and recipe, search for Simply Gloria and Cherry Divinity. Turns out, food blogger Gloria Phillips had candymaking memories with her aunt, too.)

When all the counters in the tiny kitchen were covered with mounds of pink, I was given an “important assignment” from the Head Baker. She allowed me to lay waxed paper on any other flat surface I could find.

Her bedroom dresser, 4 standing TV trays, 2 card tables and 8 chairs were soon enveloped in pretty pastel.  Then I received the most fun challenge ever: “Honey, why don’t you see how many can fit on the front porch swing? If you can fit these last few on there, you’ll be the first to taste the cooled yummies!”

It’s one of those scenes I wish had been captured on video, but it’s definitely hidden away in my memory bank. My short 7 year old arms could only reach so far. As soon as I leaned onto the swing, it started moving away from and then back toward me. The frantic timing of my placement of waxed paper and then candies with each swing must have been hilarious to watch, but I was determined to win those tasty treats, fair and square. Of course, Aunt Rebena was giggling as she watched from the kitchen window and already had my cooled but still warm reward on a doilied saucer beside a glass of milk with my name on it.

These days my taste buds aren’t really a fan of divinity, but the candy making memories from that day and other moments spent with Aunt Rebena are still heartwarming and gooey!

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Now, back to you…

What memories from childhood reconnect you

to feeling special and sweetly loved?

Let’s chat about how I can support you in following the threads from something in the present into those moments that your heart truly desires to remember.

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JOYfully jotting,

Katie

Family PhotoStory Organizer

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