In August of 2009, I had the privilege of attending my mom's 90th birthday party. As well as being a beautiful celebration of the life of an amazing woman, it was a remarkable family reunion.
A number of years previously, due to my personal circumstances at the time, I had made the difficult decision to separate from my family. As a result of that estrangement, I hadn't seen many of my siblings for years. In the interim, they had raised their families and I made some significant and positive changes in my life. By 1997, shortly before Dad passed away, I had reconnected with my family. Still, while I felt like I was again a part of the family, a lot of years had passed and in many ways we had a lot of "reacquainting" to do.
During Mom's party I had the opportunity to talk to my sister Peg about our shared love of cooking and commitment to childhood nutrition. It was absolutely heartwarming to have that touch point with her - a real family connection!
As we were leaving the church hospitality center where the party had been held, Peg mentioned out of the blue, "Gina, I still have your Easy Bake oven in my attic. Would you like it?" "Oh my gosh...really?" I replied with an immediate emotional catch in my voice. "I'd LOVE it!"
I looked over at Scott and even he was beaming, being well acquainted with the sentimental fool he married. Peg promised to send it to me when they returned home to New Jersey.
I'll step back and explain the history of my "kid stuff" so you'll understand just why this reacquisition was so significant to me. As I've written about previously, I am the youngest of our brood by a good many years - 12 to be exact. All my siblings were long done with their toys by the time I came along so most of what I had as playthings were mine and not hand-me-downs. As years went by and my sisters began having children of their own, some of my toys were sent their way for their children. For the most part, however, my toys were still around the family homestead when we moved to Colorado when I was thirteen.
Even in the upheaval of moving, I was able to bring along what I thought at the time were my treasures from childhood. My Barbies, Disney records and books, View Masters, favorite dolls, Dorothy, Tommy and Kissy...they came along in the move, softening the blow of leaving everything I'd ever known behind. But my Easy Bake oven... it did not come with us. I don't consciously remember leaving it behind, so I can only assume it was given to a niece before the move. But I did love that mini appliance and I baked many a flat round cake in it.
Continue reading "The Prodigal Easy Bake Oven" »
