One of my favorite things when I was little was ice-cream cone cupcakes – yes, actual cupcakes baked in wafer cones. Kids often brought them to class as a treat on their birthdays, and I thought they were the coolest thing in the world. Years later, whenever I mentioned these sweet treats to people, I received blank stares in return. No one knew what I was talking about, so I finally figured they were just a Midwestern (or even Madison) thing. So imagine my happiness/surprise tonight when I opened up a magazine and saw a recipe for the cupcakes staring up at me. They exist! I’m not crazy! And… I can’t wait to make them for Zoe!

I’m feeling nostalgic for other things beside cupcakes tonight. This very same magazine asked readers to discuss their favorite summer memories, and I couldn’t help but think about mine. I found myself with a slight lump in my throat as I remembered all those hot, sticky summers in Wisconsin – eating pizza and orange Slice after a dip in our pool, boating and playing rounds of Liar’s Dice at my relatives’ lake-house, celebrating 4th of July on our backporch and (later) Elver Park. Q has memories of his own, I know – and I’m sure he’s excited as I am to share them with Zoe someday.

See, now that I’m a parent, all this childhood stuff takes on new meaning. My memories reinforce how amazing (and care-free) childhood can be, and they propel me to make Zoe’s childhood special and as full of adventure, fun and love as mine was. They also remind me of how much we – and Zoe! – have to look forward to. I’m just so excited to create memories for/with her… and I think the cupcakes are a good place to start.

-M

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 12th, 2007 at 8:57 pm and is filed under 09.Half year old. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.