My Early Years

When you are young you don’t always recognize that grandparents are special, that they can shape your lives in ways your parents can’t. Little things even after all these years will come rushing back to me – whether it is hearing my grandfather’s voice in my head when I am walking “pick up your feet when you walk” or my sweet nanny’s loving nature, always happy to see you and when it is time to leave she would stand in the driveway waving goodbye with a handkerchief with tears in her eyes as we drove away. I love those memories.

But when I think about my earliest memory of sweets it is with my Grandfather Curry or “Papa” as we called him. I was probably 8 or 9 at the time. On holidays we would pile into the car and drive to St. Louis Park, up the scary steep driveway and pull into my grandparent’s house. The Curry’s always had “pop” for us kids – I remember drinking ice cold Bubble Up and relishing each sip. The kids would all go downstairs to the basement and play pool and drink our pop. Oh, how I loved the sweet bubbles tickling my throat with each swallow. I always wished I could have more than one bottle. I suspect I snuck an extra one now and again too! But it was Papa’s crystal candy jar that I remember the most. It was always filled with spiced gumdrops. I love gumdrops – especially the white peppermint ones or the red cinnamon ones, or the green spearmint ones…. Okay I love them all, I admit it.

While my siblings played pool downstairs I would sneak up and stand around the candy jar until my grandfather spotted me. Papa would lift the latch of the candy jar for me and there would be the luscious gumdrops, recently replenished just for me. One, two, three, I would take, he wouldn’t care, because of course that meant he could take one as well – always the orange clove one (my least favorite). I think he did it so I could enjoy my favorites! Here is a picture of that candy jar. It was truly the one item I wanted from their estate after they were gone. It is fragile and I am often afraid to use it. But some day when I have my grandkids of my own I will take it out and fill it with gumdrops just like Papa used to do!