My four Ginger Spice chapsticks arrived last evening. Sean was over and he opened it up for me. I was so excited and I explained to him why I love them. He politely listened with an amused face and looked at all of the chapsticks I have in the box on the table beside me. He told me that he only uses chapstick when he needs it. I told him that I NEED it CONSTANTLY now. He gave me permission to have as many chapsticks as I have and told me that it is okay because I don’t have any unhealthy vices so I can spend my time focused on things like this. I carefully removed the label that was on it for shipping and prepared to put the ginger spice on this morning. I started a new box specifically for winter. Or, after Thanksgiving and until Christmas day. After Christmas day, it’s cocoa mint!:
As soon as I pulled off the strip to unseal the chapstick, I took a whiff and was immediately a child at my Abuela’s house at Christmas time. I LOVED it! I showed this picture to my Mom and told her that I was going to post it on my blog and she looked at the picture so tenderly and said, “My mom! My beautiful mom!” I asked her how old Abuela was in this picture and my Mom thinks about mid 50s. Probably 55. If that is the case, currently, my Mom is 14 years older than she was when she died. She was 62. So, I know she was more gray when she died but she didn’t look much different. My Mom even commented on the bangles on her wrists and that made me laugh. She told me that, “My mother loved bangle bracelets.” I think it’s crazy that she has been gone for 32 years and I am still learning new things about her!
These Christmas hard candies are the reason why the smell of ginger spice reminds me of my Abuela! I remember when I first wrote about it, a couple years ago, both my brother, Ray, and my cousin, Alex thought those were disgusting! I think that they weren’t disgusting but they weren’t really good. We just ate them because they were the only thing there. It’s the same reason why my two brothers and I would take turns rocking on a small rocking chair when we went to my Dad’s parents house. That was the only form of entertainment aside from listening to Novelas that were ALWAYS on the TV:
They were located in a candy dish on the table just as you walked into the door. A glass candy dish that looks similar to this one but it didn’t have a pointy top:
My Abuela‘s house is no longer there. It was demolished 20 years ago or some thing. But I love thinking about that place and all of the wonderful Christmases I spent there during my childhood every time I put this chapstick on. I can crystal clearly see the layout of the house still! I love that the smell of this chapstick can take me back there! The smell of this chapstick pulls up all the priceless-ness of being at her house!