The taste of a happy childhood
Published 1:30 am Thursday, March 5, 2026
My son pulled his shirt on for school this morning, and I was shocked to see exposed wrists and a bare strip of belly — his shirt was suddenly too small. He has another loose tooth, he doesn’t need his step stool to reach the bathroom sink anymore, and he can climb up into his lofted bed with one step instead of three. He is beginning to skate ski now, is reading and writing, and likes to be quizzed on his multiplication tables on long car rides. His fantastic growth fills me with pride and dread in equal parts, because it is happening too fast but exactly as it should.
Sometimes I wish so badly that he was still a swaddled baby, due to wake up any minute. Or that he was still a toddler with golden curls and bunny teeth and chubby hands. I often miss my three-year-old who stuffed his pockets with pebbles and hummed “twinkle, twinkle” all day long. Now that spring break is rapidly approaching, it feels like I already miss my kindergartener, who has started wearing a green ball cap and looks very much like a first grader.
I guard his childhood with my life and have poured myself into its creation. It is my life’s mission to provide him with a childhood filled with love and joy rather than memories he must recover from, and the older he gets the more I must release my grip on him to achieve that. Someday soon, my orchestration will become overbearing, if it isn’t already, and regardless of my good intentions, it will cause him harm if I cannot let go. No matter how many shooting stars we wish upon, I will never get my baby back; I will only ever have the wonderful, brilliant person he is today, and the hope of an even greater person tomorrow.
No matter how big he gets, or how little he needs me day-to-day, I will still shower him with affection and do the little things to remind him how much his mama loves him. I write notes on his napkin for lunch and spend a whole morning every week in his classroom so I can understand his world. I also make sure our cookie jar is always stocked for both my boys … he gets his sweet tooth from his dad, after all. Usually, it’s chocolate chip cookies, but this week I made snickerdoodles. These cookies are soft and chewy, and as sweet as a happy childhood.
Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
Cinnamon sugar for rolling
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Cream the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add the egg, egg yolk, milk and vanilla extract and beat until smooth.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, cinnamon and salt.
Add the flour to the creamed butter and sugar and mix just until combined. Try not to overmix.
Use your hands to roll the dough into balls about the size of ping pong balls. Roll the balls in cinnamon sugar before arranging on the baking sheet, 12 cookies per batch. This recipe makes about 3 dozen.
Gently press each dough ball down with the palm of your hand before baking for 9 minutes.
Remove the cookies from the hot tray immediately and move to a flat surface to cool.
Cool completely before storing in an air-tight container.
