Candy. . .my inheritance

Lots of people get money, cars, homes, businesses, mirrors, trunks, pictures, clothes and more. Me, I received some candy, Peanut Butter candy to be specific.

By all accounts, my Mother was not a good cook. No one ever asked for her recipes. She had two food items that to the best of my knowledge are uniquely identified by the way she prepared them.

First is a single layer cake with either chocolate or white frosting. It was always lovingly referred to as umm umm cake. Why? Well the story goes that my Grandfather Rawson once told my Mother that he hated mayonnaise. He said, “I’ll not eat anything that has mayonnaise in it.” Still, my Father knew that if Grandpa would just taste the cake, he would like it.

In retrospect, what’s not to like about any desert that my Grandfather would eat? Heck, every desert had milk and three or four teaspoons of sugar poured on it before it was ever consumed. How could he possibly tell there was anything in any desert he consumed? It all tasted like milk with sugar in it.

Anyway, the story goes that he tasted the umm umm cake and was surprised at how good it tasted. It became one of his favorites. Whenever he and my Grandmother visited or we would go to see them, umm umm cake was ON the menu.

As children, my Mother would make the four of us candy if we promised to be good. Oh, we were extra good when we knew that Peanut Butter candy was going to be made. Hey, we would act nicely for an entire day just to get her candy.

My Mother passed away at age 42. About a year before she passed on she said, “Do you want to learn how to make your own Peanut Butter candy?” Frankly, I jumped at the chance. It took several attempts before I got the “hang” of it. Her measurements were helpful. A little of this, a little of that and stir until. . . Did I say helpful? Not really. If you’re a cross filed and indexed person, you want exact numbers.

Over the years I’ve made this candy for my own children. Once, each of our six children had a friend visiting our home. I had sent my wife away for a little R and R and was tending the children alone. The noise, my gosh, the noise was deafening. They were just children trying to have a good time.

After a couple of hours I called them all together and put them each in a chair in our family room in front of a TV and VCR. I said, “If you’ll be quiet and watch this movie I give each of you your own bowl of Peanut Butter candy.” Needless to say, they were quiet as a church mouse. Here’s the best part, the sugar rush didn’t really set in until after the movie was over and they had gone to the neighbors to play. Not bad for a Dad.

My Mom was not a wealthy person. After my Mother and Father split up I went to live with my Father and neither of them had much in terms of material wealth. My Mom probably never thought of her Peanut Butter candy as a legacy or inheritance but it surely is.

Today, I’ve added my own distinct touch to her recipe to achieve an even greater level of personal satisfaction from this very personal taste treat. Still, every time I give a piece of the candy to someone for the first time, I take great pride in watching their reaction to this most prized taste treat.

I can’t bring myself to even say the words, “Peanut Butter candy” without thinking of my Mother. It truly is my inheritance and her legacy to me and the generations that follow.