Fall in a Jar

I know I have mentioned how the air around this house becomes electrified whenever a box crosses the threshold of our humble abode from the mainland. Today, a box came from my mom and just like other times, everyone clamors around the box trying to figure out what treasure awaits as the tape is sliced and the lid is lifted to reveal the contents of the package. However, we had to delay our opening ceremony as we were in a rush to get homework done and get out the door to HS's karate class. We said our farewells to the magical box and promised we would behold the contents once we sat down for dinner.

We came home, completed all the necessary steps to getting dinner on the table, served up the dishes, and then sat down to pray. "and dear God...thank you for special things from my grandma. She must know how happy she makes us. Amen." HS says with a rather rapid pace as he stares at the unopened box.

"What's in there?!?!" HS says with a mouth full of food.
"I'm not sure darlin'...we'll soon see..."

The tape peeled easily free from the sides of the box and I opened the top revealing a ton of little foamies.
"Looks like we have little foam pieces, darlin'" I slyly say.



With a simple twist of the wrist, the packing foam revealed two wonderful words: Jamisons' Orchard.




My pulse quickened as I dug deeper and HS got on his knees in his chair to peer over the box opening. LD squealed from her highchair as I began to smell the cinnamon found only in the delicious old-fashioned candy that greeted me every year that we were stationed in Japan during the fall months. She had struck again. My mom sent me fall tastes in a box. When you are stationed in a part of the world that doesn't go through seasonal changes, little things like the smells associated with your favorite season of the year mean a lot.

My mom heard me ask for a small jar of Spiced Apple Butter (HH had devoured the one that we had from Gibson's farm in Bethel, much to my chagrin) to help in my Fall quest in Hawaii, and she had gone even further with my wants. We are now the delightful eaters of not only old-fashioned candy and spiced apple butter, but also excited eaters of the sacred peach butter.

How on Earth did I get the coolest mom ever?

"Mommy, we're going to have to hide all this from daddy..." I hear through the smacking of happy HS lips as he devoured his second piece of bread spread with all the tastes I had been missing of fall. Isn't amazing how simple delights can be found in the form of Spiced Apple Butter?

Thank you, mom for sending fall my way. I love you!