Last week Erica received the best gift. Like one that spoke straight to her heart. And her stomach.
When her parents pulled into our house from Washington, they had a few (or actually, a TON) of miscellaneous things that’s didn’t get packed on their moving truck. They overshot their new home in Northern Arizona to come and stay with us in the valley for a few weeks until their home officially closed! We had roomies!!
The best part about that (besides some quality time we’d get with them) was that included in the things they brought along were items from their fridge and freezer! As Dave (Erica’s dad) and Jon started unloading them out of the Yeti and into our deep freezer, Dave yelled, ‘Hey Erica! This is for you!!”
Frozen food…? Great. Cue the ‘My parents drove all the way from Washington state and all I got was some crappy frozen food’ t-shirt! With the jokester that Dave is, we figured Erica had a bag of frozen peas coming her way.
Wrong.
What he held up in the air was a true gift to her. A gift that made her put a little pep in her step to run up and grab it before he said his usual, “SIKE!!”
In the Tupperware was something she’s savored and craved since her childhood. Erica remembers the smell of it when she would walk in and see her sweet little Italian great-grandma making it in the tiny kitchen of her little white trailer in Tucson. She would form the meatballs, brown the ribs, and simmer the BEST pot of gold! It was her homemade spaghetti sauce! It gave a whole new meaning to spaghetti and meatballs being labeled “comfort food.” Comfort in the delicious taste for sure! But also comfort knowing that it was made with love every single time from Great Grandma Mae.
Long before she passed, she made sure that Tina (Erica’s mom) had the recipe and knew how to make it. And it’s no easy task. It’s not like popping the lid to Preggo and heating it in the pot. There’s a process. There are specific brands of ingredients that have to be used to get the flavors just right. And there are time consuming steps that go into making it.
That’s why Erica accepted it as a gift. It was Dave and Tina’s last container that they had made up of it and she’s been craving it for months now. The older Erica gets and the less desirable being in the kitchen is to her, the more she has savored this specific meal.
You hear it said all the time that the gifts you appreciate the most are the ones made in love. The handmade cards from your kids that are sticky from the glue they used to make it. The plastic beaded necklace strung with soft blue hearts on a lime green string. The crotched blanket or the hand-knitted scarf. Or the last homemade container of great grandma’s spaghetti sauce that you didn’t see coming. The highest, top, name brand item or the richest and finest restaurant don’t have anything on receiving something made with love.
No matter if it’s a job you’re working, a gift you’re giving, or a meal you’re making – do it in love. It will always be received well.
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