Oh the good ol' days!

I was doing a little stocking stuffer shopping the other day at the local Wal-Mart fall apart store, just down the road. I went down the "Holiday Aisle" were all the fun candy items are kept and I was taken back to my childhood. I got so homesick or young sick I just about cried. I saw cans of candy that my Grandma use to have. You know the kind that are kept in a cylinder can. The candy inside is hard and some of them have "jelly" or some kind of something inside. It's the old fashioned candy. They also had Ribbon Candy on the shelf, one of my Grandma's favorites. Oh, and the huge boxes of cheap chocolates. I remember so many Christmas's going to my Grandma's house and seeing the floor covered in wrapping paper and boxes of chocolates placed all over the front room. Our family was one of the few families that didn't live in the same town as my Grandparents. So by the time we got there, the good peanut clusters or caramel's were already picked through. You could bet that there were plenty orange, cherry, lemon or some creme filled chocolate. And most of those had been poked or bitten into and left for dead. You either ate the half ones or maybe, just maybe a good one might of got over looked and you would find it. I remember finding one, a good one, and looking about the room to see if it was a joke or if anyone else saw what I had found. It was like I had the golden ticket!

It was like Mr. Forrest Gump said

"you neva know what cha gonna get"

While I was standing in this candy aisle, I started filling my basket full of stuff. Things that I didn't need or really think that I wanted....but it kept piling up. I found myself smiling, while I was standing there all by myself. It was kind-of funny. Well, I finally walked away and found Luke. When he saw me, he did the normal "do we need that". (NOt in a bad way, but you should of seen my stash) I found myself putting back a few things, like the huge box of chocolates. I knew that I didn't want to eat them or that we would even come close to finishing them. So, I put them back. But, tonight I laying next to my girls and was thinking about my Grandma, who by the way lived for Christmas. I was thinking about the fact that I remember those things and they meant a lot to me as a child and obviously as an adult. So...I am going back to that store and I am buying a box of cheap chocolates in memory of my Grandma. I know that sounds crazy or silly. But Christmas was a huge family affair at my Grandparents house. It was hot chocolate and chili on the bank of the pond while we ice-skated, it was seeing my Grandma's charlie Brown tree decorated beautifully. It was finding your name written on a white festive bank envelope hiding on the tree, with a $2 dollar bill in it. It was cinnamon toast and oranges at the table. Oh, the list could go on and on. The story doesn't end there. Two years ago, I received a call on Christmas morning that my Grandma had passed away. We were all sad to have her out of our reach, for now, but so happy for her to be reunited with Grandpa. So many of us kind-of giggle to each other, that she got the last laugh, going home on Christmas day. Her favorite day of the year! Oh, how I miss her. She was a sweet hear of a woman and beyond hilarious! One, day I will write the story about when me and my mom took her to see Bob Barker at the Price is Right.

Pretty great story!

For all of you that know *Down the Middle, Boys*