Cookies!!

I love my niece. Aside from being funny and smart and witty and just generally a lot of fun to hang out with, she sends me cookies every year at Xmas. I went to the post office yesterday to pick up this years offering. I gained 20 lbs. just opening the box! Inside were, eggnog cookies, candy cane cookies, 2 kinds of fudge, biscotti, macaroons among other lovely fattening treats and just for me nut brittle. I am the only one of the folks that she sends these care packages off to that actually likes the stuff. Actually likes is a bit of an understatement, and this year I get to rot all of my dental work out with cashew brittle. It doesn't get much better.

Every year I am hugely impressed by this expression of generosity. If you've never baked cookies, I have to point out it's not something that you can do in 10 minutes. This takes time. Literally hours. I also should point out the girl is a busy professional and so this is a real sacrifice of time and if you've been to the grocery store recently you will also realize this ain't cheap. The only insight I can offer as to why the niece takes the time and puts the energy into doing this is, that like me she loves food. One of the things I enjoyed about having my daughter live with me when she was in high school was that I had someone to cook for. I think that is a big part of it, at least from my point of view. Food is for sharing, it is a way of communicating. You know, communion. That said, there is a lot to be said for guilty pleasures as well, which more often than not are best enjoyed in privacy. I will probably spend a good share of my time over the next couple of weeks with my nose buried in a book and one hand in a bag of delicious homemade cookies. Hey, I have the rest of the winter to work them off at the gym.