spring is in the air

Spring is definitely in the air around here...we have had 4 days of sunshine and we are loving every minute of it!! I wanted to take a moment to appreciate the small things...you know those things that you have that you don't realize are special til you go to use them?

Well, I had one of those moments last night. As I was growing up I remember baking a lot of things, my mom being a home economics teacher might have something to do with that, but who knows! When making a cake, brownies, bread, muffins, or anything cakey really I remember using this cake tester. It's small, green, and old, it's a fancier version of a toothpick to check if a cake is fully baked in the middle. But it has always been there. Although I don't use it as often as I wish I would, time and ability get in the way of that, I do use it. Last night as I was making muffins for the teachers, I started looking for it to check if they were done...but I couldn't find it. In a panic I dug through all the drawers and cupboards and still couldn't find it. As a tear rolled down my cheek, I wondered to myself...Why was this so important? I had toothpicks...well because it reminded me of my mom. It brought back those wonderful memories of baking with her and the lessons she taught me, not that all of them stuck, but what can I say!

Like that cake tester, my mom was always there to check on me and let me know if I needed to spend more time on something. Not being overbearing, but useful and helpful. Sometimes it's the little things that mean the most, the small comments, the hugs and kisses, the "I love you" and the time.