My memories of chocolate

Today I had a hankering for something cholatey. For me chocolate symbolizes many things, most of which involve my family and how we are close-knit. The following are some of my favorite memories of which chocolate plays a major role:

1. My dad was (and still is) very enthusiastic about fixing up old cars (mostly old British cars) and making them run again. When I was very young my dad would take me out in his red MG and since we lived in the country and no cars would come for ages, my dad and I would go whizzing down the road to on some Saturday mornings. He'd take me to a bakery/diner by our house that I only knew as the doughnut shop. I loved the wind blowing through my hair as my dad drove and when we got to the doughnut shop I always got long johns which were long doughnuts with lots of chocolate. I loved going there with him and spinning around on the bar stools until I got dizzy while we waited for the doughnuts to come out and then we'd go home. When I think of that time, it makes me think of how much I love my parents.

2. Also as young children, in the summers my siblings and I would set up lemonade stands by our house, my mum would help us and we'd make the lemonade ourselves. I'll never forget once we were all sitting outside at our stand and a woman came by on her bicycle and stopped. She said that she felt she had to stop as she'd read somewhere that kids would be psychologically damaged if no one stopped at their lemonade stands. I guess our stand didn't look particularly prosperous to her ( and I don't think we really understood what "psychologically damaged" meant anyway.) She said she didn't have any money but she did have a Snickers bar which we accepted as payment and we were pretty pleased about i! (I guess it didn't occur to us to heed our parents' warning never to take candy or anything else from strangers but it really was harmless.) Ah, if only chocolate could be used as currency!

3. My mother's father was a lovely man who spoiled me rotten! He used to take me down to the village shop where newspapers and sweets were sold, whenever my family and I came to visit my grandparents. My grandfather would buy a newspaper that he'd take to an old lady who lived a few doors down from him who had difficulty getting out of her house due to her age. He'd then let me choose some chocolate and as we walked to his neighbor's house he used to recite poetry and Shakespeare to me as he seemed to love doing that. I think those walks were part of what helped me gain a love of Shakespeare and English literature in general. 

So you see, chocolate isn't only special to me because it tastes good, it's also a little taste of home. It reminds me of the good things in my life. It's a constant reminder to me not only of my family, but also of the fact that life is sweet!