The other day I received cookies from a dear friend.  I have been thoughtfully placed on her VIP list, and as a recipient, my reward is her baked goods.

The box came and I ripped into it.  I knew what was waiting for me and frankly, I was eager to stuff my face.  I needed that sweetness, to actually taste it.  The butter, sugar, chocolate chips. The cheerful Snowman and Santa faces.  I gobbled it down.  My brother in law came in and I gladly shared.  My kids came in and my husband too.  I wanted everyone to share.

And she wrote me the sweetest note. A note celebrating our 11 year friendship.  And an extra message, that I had never received baked goods from her, and that was now going to change.

Wow.

What a precious gift it is, the gift of sweetness.  I read about so many women and men who, for the holidays, take to the kitchens.  They get up early and mix and stir. Following family recipes. Then when finished, they bag it all up, put in boxes and bags, and send it all to parts known and unknown. Whether that be their next door neighbor, the soup kitchen down the street, a pen pal across the world, a teen idol they adored and now know, off it all goes. The very best of them. Their dedication and their love and their art.  To spread that sweetness and love to others.

And I get to be on that VIP list now. How lucky am I?

The last cookie left received the honors it so well deserved.  The letter advised to eat with coffee or another favorite beverage. So that morning, I pulled out a china plate, filled up my Thomas Jefferson mug, and solemnly but happily munched away.

Thank you ever so much, my Mylanta sis!