Candy Memories

You know how there are little things that will always remind you of someone? Like every time I see a greyhound or something with a greyhound on it, I think of my friend Natalie. Whenever I see anchors or nautical-themed things, I think of my cruise-loving mother in law.

When I see certain candies, I think of my dad. My dad was a fan of hard candies. He had four favorite kinds of hard candies: Peppermints, lemon drops, cinnamons and Horehounds (brown candies that have a unique flavor that reminded me of licorice and root beer).

They’re the kind of candies that you find in the paper bag packages at the Cracker Barrel country store. The ones with very distinct and very different flavors.

I think about him whenever I see, smell or taste anything with those flavors. From the jar of lemon drops on someone’s desk to the peppermint I sometimes add to my coffee. But I don’t say anything because what can I say? “My dad used to like those?”Somehow saying it out loud makes it sad. Thinking it in my head is less sad because the memories are sweet … so to speak. These memories aren’t exact and they aren’t stories that much when you tell them. It’s little glimpses and things that just were, like knowing there would be cinnamon candy in his truck when I borrowed it.

The longer we’ve been without him, the more I’ve worried about forgetting things about him. But then small memories like these will surface and it makes me feel a bit better.

This year, my thoughts continue to be with those who are missing and mourning a father figure on Father’s Day. No matter how many years you have with someone, it feels like it’s not enough. If you are blessed to be spending Father’s Day with your father figure, treasure these times and make the memories that you can, regardless of how small they seem right now.

 

One thought on “Candy Memories

Leave a Reply