Care Package

Lost, somewhere in the New York City Postal system: Care Package

Near the end of her 9 week stay in NYC this summer, I sent a box of my famous and much-requested Scotcheroos (modified rice krispy squares topped with a layer of melted chocolate and butterscotch chips) to my daughter. I also slipped into the box a beautiful handmade necklace I had found at an art fair. I knew both items would bolster her flagging energy and enthusiasm for her challenging job as a dorm RA for a ballet school.

The box never arrived. I felt somehow that I had let her down. I couldn't decide which was the greater loss: the necklace or the treats.

Receiving at least one package of scotcheroos while away at summer camp has been a tradition for my kids. I'm sure they arrive melted and squished, but the recipient always assures me they are edible and delicious. They are somehow evocative of home and loving care. They are a special treat that I make for long road trips and holidays, as well as care packages. I suppose it's silly to reserve them for only certain occasions, as they are inexpensive and easy to make. But that is what has made them special.

When my daughter arrived home from her summer away, I made sure to have a pan of scotcheroos ready for her to make up for the egregious neglect. A couple of weeks later, she moved back to campus for her second year of college. When she had been gone for about 4 weeks, she called and informed me that she needed a care package. I knew what partially motivated this demand---I had mentioned that her sister was having friends over on a Saturday morning to work on a float for the upcoming Homecoming parade, and that I had offered to make cappuccino muffins for the group.

Cappuccino muffins (coffee/cinnamon flavored muffins with chocolate chips) are another special occasion treat---reserved for Mock Trial competitions, dance dress rehearsals, holiday brunches---and care packages. So I doubled the recipe and sent her a box, which she received a couple of days later. I was sure they would be squished and crumbly when they arrived, but if such was the case, she did not complain. She said they were great and that she had rationed them out so that she had one last muffin to reward herself after a long Friday evening dance rehearsal.

People don't send me care packages. I'm not at the stage in my life where I am far from home and in need of reminders of family love and care. I know someday my kids will no longer need those boxes of favorite treats from me, because they will have made wherever they are Home. But in the meantime, I will continue to box up the occasional special treat to help them through a rough time or just to reassure them that I am thinking about them.

Including a handmade necklace is optional, but the homemade treats are not.