Heirloom Slush Mugs

How delightful it can be to be reminded of one’s childhood. Being the oldest grandchild on my mom’s side of the family, and the first to bear children, has already yielded its advantages. My Grammy (my Mom’s mom) has passed the magical Slush Mugs onto me. A person has only to pour a delicious beverage of their choice into the cup insert and put it into the freezer, and in a couple of hours- slushy! As a child I gleaned that root beer was the best choice for making slushies. My son hasn’t shown too much interest in this treat yet; in the meantime my husband and I are enjoying our root beer slushies with a movie in the evening when the kids are in bed. It’s one of the favorite parts of my day!

I enjoy food. Some of my earliest memories are food memories, so maybe that’s why. We didn’t have cable at home for most of my childhood. When we went to Grammy and Pop-pop’s house Grammy would spread a sheet on the living room floor so we could watch television while we ate and she wouldn’t have to worry about us staining her carpet. It was like a picnic!

Now when Grammy comes to visit my kids she always brings a box of animal crackers with her: the red box with the handle made of string. My mom, Nana, always prepares a goody bag full of snacks for my son to eat on the ride home from her house, and she never comes to our house without some sort of treat for her grandbabies: sometimes it’s a bag of Goldfish, or a granola bar, or graham crackers in the shape of insects. Nothing says, “I love you” like a graham cracker inchworm.

It’s all those special things that only your family does that make it your family. I’m anxious to nurture special memories for my kids that they can take with them into their adult lives; memories that make them smile and know that they are loved. Memories that make root beer flavored slushies.