Nanny's Cookie Jar

This story is inspired by an American Atelier Buon Appetito Chef Cookie Jar, just like the one my grandma has in her kitchen.

While most little girls would prefer to spend time with their daddy adventuring or helping their mommy cook, Josie could not wait for he Fridays she could spend with her grandma. This Friday Josie and her grandma (who she preferred to call Nanny) were going shopping together. Nanny would be picking Josie up at noon and Josie could not wait.

Josie pulled her suitcase out of the closet. It was a pink roller suitcase with an image of barbie on the front. The plastic front was busted from the heavy loads the suitcase had endured one too many times. The zipper was split and no longer served the same purpose as it once had, and the wheels were bent, causing the suitcase to drag at a sideways angle. None of this bothered Josie. In her suitcase she packed her favorite pink Hello Kitty pajamas with her matching Hello Kitty slippers what were no longer white, but rather a light brown. She also packed an image she had drawn for Nanny at school. She couldn’t wait to show Nanny in hopes it would make it on the fridge. The only thing left to pack was her stuffed bear that no longer rattled, but rather had a low rumbling sound such as a nail polish bottle would when shook. The bear however, was too important to be packed away. The bear stayed tightly clutched to Josie’s side as her security.

Josie waited patiently by the big bay windows in the living room. Finally she saw Nanny’s black Pontiac pulling up in the drive. Josie leaped from the window and tore open the door. Nanny was dressed stylish as always in her dark olive jeans, short black boots, and a cream colored oversized sweater. She wore a delicate floral scented perfume that ever so slightly filled the air. Josie loved that perfume, as she would often put it on when she went to her grandmother’s house.

Josie and Nanny went to the store and looked at new kitchen decor for Nanny’s new kitchen. Nanny had always had her kitchen decorated in Chef decor, or what she liked to call ‘Baker Man’. Josie picked out a large cookie jar shaped like a chef. Nanny put it in the cart without any contemplation. Josie and Nanny finished up their trip with snacks of josie’s choice. Josie chose no-bake cookies; those were her and Nanny’s favorite.

When they returned to Nanny’s, Josie helped Nanny unload all of their goodies. Nanny placed the new cookie jar on the counter next to the oven and told Josie they could but the cookies in the jar once they were finished. Josie gathered all of the ingredients for the cookies and grandma pulled out the recipe from a large box full of papers and note cards containing all sorts of recipes. Nanny measured and poured while Josie mixed and scooped. When the cookies were finished, Josie and her grandma both ate one cookie and nodded in pleasure of their creation. They placed the remaining cookies in the cookie jar for Josie to have when she came over next time.

Many Friday nights came and went and the cookies were gone quickly. In their place Josie and Nanny made many other desserts and goodies. Years later when Nanny passed, Josie was grown with a young six year old girl of her own. Every Friday night, Josie would bake with her little girl just as her grandma had done with her. When the cookies were done, Josie would eat one cookie and her daughter would eat another. They would then place the remaining cookies in the cookie jar; the same jar her and Nanny had once used. To her daughter the cookie jar may not mean much, just as it had not meant much to her as a child. However over time the jar grew into something so much more than a container. The jar was a capsule of so many shared memories and lots of cookies. Josie kept the jar on the counter right beside the oven as a constant reminder of the Friday nights spent with her grandmother.