Galvanized

There comes a time to say good-bye, and today was the day for my mother’s cookie sheets. Ancient. Stained. Slightly bent. The foundation for 55 years or more of cookies: First my mother’s, then mine, then my kids, most recently and most often, my daughter’s. Chocolate chip. Chocolate Peanut butter chip. Peanut butter. Kiss cookies. Oatmeal scotchies. Unbelievables. Molasses cookies. Jam cookies. Hand pies. Endless creations. Sweet and warm, just like my memories. Just like my Mom.

I’ve very few “things” of my Mom’s. I never really have liked stuff (except everything in my sister’s teenage closet), but along with my Mom’s square brownie pan and a pair of baby scissors, these cookie sheets have always kept my Mom close, especially during the holidays – the cookie baking season. I’ll miss them, just like I miss her. But I know that all I really need to do is watch my daughter bake, and my Mom is here with me.

In case you’re wondering, and in the interest of warding off similar mishaps, after all of these years of use, all of these years of hand-washing, I put these pans in the dishwasher a time or two, and they galvanized. Be respectful of those old things…take the time to hand wash  and treat them as the treasures they are.