Doughnut Day

"We'd like seven doughnuts," Andrew told the man at the window. 

"It's your lucky day," the man said. "Today we have a buy-seven-doughnuts-get-five-free deal!"

And that's how we ended up with a dozen doughnuts for doughnut day.  

 

I don't know whether that was a real deal for the day, or whether it was toward the end of the day and they were trying to get rid of their inventory, or whether the man was simply being kind...but any way you think of it, it was a lovely bit of added joy to our day!

We went to get doughnuts the day Grandma died and have had doughnuts (almost) every year on that day since.  

 

 

I just found out that my friend's mother passed away yesterday, on November 9, around the time we were getting doughnuts. I was writing a little note of condolence to her and thinking about the tradition of getting doughnuts (which Grandpa so purposefully manufactured) and I admit I got teary (which isn't something I expected to do because I've mostly been able to not cry about Karen the past few years). 

 

But I was thinking about how meaningful these doughnuts have become, that they were (honestly?) a little hard to choke down that first morning after her death (she died in the early hours of the morning, we came home to sleep, and then rather morosely went for doughnuts). With every passing year, though, the doughnuts (and memories) have become sweeter, something to look forward to...but even now, at a point where joy, I think, is outweighing the sadness, there's still a hole in the middle of everything (just like a doughnut).  

Anyway, I don't think the tears are so much for myself/ourselves at this point than they are for my friend, as I remember how very raw fresh loss can be and how much pain she must be in right now.

But yesterday was really pretty much pure joy for us—with an extra dash of doughnut! 

 

Phoebe requested a happy face doughnut and Andrew told her that we'd "see," so she was so excited to open the box and see that there really was a happy face doughnut inside and to learn that it was for her! 

She ate about half of it and then gave the rest to Andrew, instead turning her attention—to my surprise—to the blue monster doughnut (which she split with Alex). They both ended up with rather blue mouths...