As I bake a pistachio dessert for a family reunion tomorrow I am reminded why I started baking in the first place and why I love it so much. You see, in my family baking is kind of a tradition. I remember making monkey bread with my dad when I was a toddler, and I have endless memories of making cookies with my grandma and my aunt. If you ask my dad how I learned to bake, he'll say he's the one that get's the credit, but the way I remember it is I learned how to bake from my grandma and her sister. Whoever taught me, I'm glad they did because it's something I really enjoy.
The way I bake has changed a lot throughout the years, but I still stay true to my family roots. I grew up helping my aunt make Christmas cookies, where she would mix the ingredients and then I'd spoon the cookie dough onto the pan. Now that I'm an adult, I make cookies and cakes whenever I please! Even though I bake at home by myself most of the time, I still greatly enjoy going to my grandma's house at Christmas time to make Christmas cookies. I just love rolling out sugar cookies on the dining room table because of all of the memories that come along with it. There's nothing like baking some delicious cookies while going down memory lane. It's nice to take some time in our hectic lives to reminisce the memories we've made so far. What's the point of making memories if you don't have time to treasure them?
The other thing I love about baking is seeing other people enjoy what I've made. Baking is different than cooking in the sense that baking is usually associated with dessert and sweet treats, while cooking can be anything. I do like to cook here and there, but I will always enjoy baking because I love brightening up someone's day with a sweet treat. I learned this at a very young age when my dad's face would light up whenever we went to my grandma's house and the cookie jar was full. I didn't fall in love with baking for the food itself. I fell in love with it because of the happiness it brought to people and the togetherness it brought to my family.
Someday when I have a family of my own I want to pass on my love for baking to my kids. I don't care if they carry on the tradition themselves or not. I just want them to experience the love and the memory making that comes with baking. As long as they understand how important family really is, that's all I can hope for. In today's society it seems like family togetherness isn't as strong as past generations, but I plan to keep that bond strong when I have a family of my own because that's what's really important in life. You could be a millionaire, but without close friends and family your life would be pretty lonely. So here's to keeping the family bond close and the family tradition alive!
