Home 2020

Today, I was reminded why we jump through all of those holiday hoops.  We make dozens of cookies, we drink hot chocolate or eggnog, we shop and we trim the tree.  Just when we think we can't do anymore, we clean the house and make 250 Swedish meatballs for the crew descending on us for our family Christmas Party (or whatever holiday you celebrate). Every year we say we are going to cut down, make it simpler, but few of us rarely follow through.  There is a reason why we do it -- even if we are not 100% aware of that reason.    It is that light we feel inside -- may it be flickering at times, but when we see a smile, a look of appreciation, or the hear a roar of laugh from our great uncle Scrooge -- the light is impossible to extinguish.   So we do it again and again -- just to have the light ignited. My son-in-law and daughter come over each December to make lefse -- basically the Norwegian equivalent to a tortilla.  Every culture has a flat bread that is easy and inexpensive to produce.  We Scandinavians have lefse.   We don't eat it with the usual meat filling of other cultures-- for our family it is just butter and sugar -- more of a dessert fare. Back to my son-in-law...Donnie has had many challenges in his life.  He lost his mother early and he lost most of his hearing from a childhood illness. Last year, however, was a banner year for him...he married my daughter at Cocoa Beach in Florida and had a cochlear implant which restored a great deal of his hearing --another story that will have you in tears for a later time. One of Donnie's fondest , faint, memories was of lefse, so this week he bought a...