Grandma Lu was sitting in her rocking chair looking at the light rain falling. She noticed that the rain was making a pool of water around the drain spout next to the front porch. She smiled thinking about her mother. "I've sure been thinking about you lately, Mom. I guess because you were such a bright light in my life during the holidays when I was young. Well, even when I was a a young mom you were such fun."
Grandma Lu continued to rock and remember. "Yes, you were a good mama even when you were so very busy baking for the folks in town and for the grocery store. But you always seemed to know when I needed you even though I didn't complain....
Grandma Lu's eyes felt heavy especially listening to her husband's gentle snoring while he napped away the rainy day. She found herself back on the farm by the front porch. She was four years old and her big sister was in high school. She had a brother, but he didn't count much. He was just a baby so he couldn't play with her. She sure wished she had somebody to play with.
She looked out at the yard. There was a tire swing but she was too little to push herself with her feet. She needed to have a grownup like her dad or mom to push her. She needed to get bigger that was all there was to it!
She looked down at the corner of the porch. There was a puddle of water there by the drain spout. "Must have rained a little bit last night," she thought. She looked around and saw the bench that held the wash pan that her daddy used to wash up before he came in the house from the fields or milking. There was a pitcher of water and a long handled cup for drinking sometimes. On the board below there was some old towels and a can with a piece of soap in it. "Oh there you are; my little muffin tin. I must have forgotten to take you in the house the last time I made some dandelion muffins. I guess today I can make some muffins out of mud. I need a stick and some rocks and a little more dirt."
She got busy and gathered some little rocks together and decided to put them in the bottom of the muffin tins. The rocks were wet and muddy and some of them were so little that they stuck to her hands, so then she washed them in the puddle of water. She had watched her mama make lots and lots of cinnamon rolls and she always washed her hands a lot. But she had to get some more dirt into the puddle to make a thick dough like her mama did.
She looked up to see her mama standing by the door watching her. "Hi, Mama. Want to play with me? I am making some mud muffins."
Her Mama smiled and said, "Sure grab another little stick for me. I'll help you stir the dough."
Well that she did. She jumped up and grabbed a little branch from the yard and ran back to her mom. She was so excited to have someone to play with. With careful amounts of water and dirt they made six little mud muffins. "All done!" she proclaimed.
"Oh no not yet, little one. You forgot to add some magic to your dough so it will be perfect for all off your pretend company that will eat them."
"Oh my, is that what you do to your cookies and cakes? Do you put magic in them? Is that why people like your baking so much? Show me the magic, Mama. Where is it?"
Her mama chuckled and said, "Okay let's put your muffin tin over here on this tree stump. It is in the sun where it is nice and hot. Does it look like the sun will bake it?"
She nodded her head. "It is perfect. I just love it. Add the magic, please!"
Her mama smiled and said, "You just did! You added a little bit of love to your muffins, now all of the little creatures in the timber will like your mud muffins.
"Love? Love is magic? You told me that Santa is magic. Is Santa love too?"
"Yes, my dear. Love is magic. You can't see it, but you can feel it and sometimes you can taste it on the food that I make you and that hot cocoa that you say you like. When you get big you can add your own magic in the food that you fix for your family and loved ones."
Grandma Lu woke with a start. The sun was shining now. She shook her head a little bit and thought. "I think I will make a batch of bread and maybe some cinnamon rolls. I haven't done that in a long long time."
She reached into her cupboards and got out the mixing bowl and the yeast and measuring cups. As she grabbed the can of Crisco she smiled and thought, "Yup, I best not forget that little bit of magic. Love you, Mom."
