On rememberances

Oatmeal-Chocolate-Chip Cookies via

We don't know most of our neighbors. We've lived here for over three years, and I don't know the name of a single person who lives in the house across the street and over one. It's kind of sad how insular the suburbs can be.

But we do know the neighbors to the south of our house pretty well. They're some of those genuinely great neighbors that we feel lucky to have. When we moved in, there were four of them (mom, dad, college-aged son, middle-school-aged son), but, sadly, the mom died of cancer two years ago this week.

This lady, whose story is not mine to tell so I'm not going to tell you her name, was a dynamo. She was funny and clever and generous and an incredible cook. Her sons certainly know how to have a good time but she raised them to be polite, respectable, nice dudes (remind me to tell you about her older son at our Halloween party sometime).

Every once in a while, a few times a year, I'll bake something and send it over to the boys. I know that their mom used to bake like whoa, but that it's unlikely they make themselves many cookies, so it's a little something I like to do to remind them we're thinking of them. The last time I brought something over (it was a batch of pumpkin-chocolate chip cookies that were still warm), the younger son, who's now fifteen, dragged his friend over here to hug me and say thank you.

So today I'm making them a batch of oatmeal-chocolate-chip cookies. I know this week has got to suck, and cookies aren't going to do much, but at least they'll have something delicious to eat while they're thinking of their mom.

What do you do to remember lost loved ones? What would you suggest I bake for my neighbors next time I'm feeling bakerly?