When the Magic Happened

Friday nights are when the magic happened. And by magic I mean ice cream parties. As soon as my parents left for services, Bubbie and Grandma served up the scoops with hot fudge and we settled in for The Newlywed Game and the The Gong Show. You remember those, right?

Why are these simple memories so memorable? Was it the heaping bowl of deliciousness? Or was it that Bob Eubank's never failed to make us giggle when he asked contestants about making whoopie? Nah, it was way more than that. For my sister and me, those Friday nights with my grandmothers were cozy, sweet and fun. We felt safe and loved. 

Who made you feel cuddly as a kid? What's your story?

Listen to this client's priceless memory of her grandmother: 

Goggy ruled with a velvet glove. She was the go-to for anything, especially emotional support. If I needed her, she was there. In those days, if you got sick you didn’t go to the doctor. Goggy was the family doctor. When I got a sore throat, I’d stay in bed in the big kitchen while Goggy cooked and cleaned. She’d give me a jelly jar full of grape juice mixed with water, which I only got when I was sick. She said it was “good for the blood”. Then she’d wet one of my grandpa’s handkerchiefs and wrap it around my neck with a layer of wool over it. The handkerchief was always dry in the morning, so I was a believer!

I'd say she felt cozy and safe, with some actual sweetness thrown in for good measure.

To our children, we're now old and their grandparents, if they knew them, were born old! Sharing these memories gives them a sense of who their older relatives were as little kids and sheds light on the ways that the people in our lives made us feel loved. So go ahead and retell those sweet memories. Recreate the scene and the feelings that go with it.