Made in Italy

MADE IN ITALY

This is a cookie jar from before the arrival of me. At one time it sat in a corner of Granny’s kitchen. One of the mysteries of the cookie jar was the wonder of what it might hold. It was never the same and it never failed to provide joy. Today, this cookie jar is broken. The glued together lid reveals its far from perfect state. It is flawed.

The cookie jar contains cookies no more. I suspect it never will. The day for cookies in a cookie jar has moved beyond me now and yet the cookie jar remains. You see, the wonder and value of the cookie jar for me, is not in what it holds at this moment but instead, what it has provided over my lifetime. Today, it reminds me of a time before and of a promise ahead.

I know many who remind me of this cookie jar. They are broken with flaws for all to see even though at one time they were each a carefully crafted piece.  The lid of this cookie jar was destined to break long before doing so. It was fragile at the onset and the seating of the lid was not considered as it should have been. I am surprised it has made it this far. Many cookie jars just like this one are gone forever. Broken beyond repair they were discarded. It is unfortunate that were not handled with the care necessary since their purpose at the onset, to provide the goodness of joy, was meant to remain.

I know many that have spent large parts of their entirety providing unknown joys; joys that were revealed only on opening. Joys that will perhaps remain forever. In a sense, they were a cookie jar. Fragile, with more than a mis-seated lid, some were handled with more care than others and filled time and time again. Some set empty and isolated. Their purpose, a singular purpose to provide happiness, ignored. This cookie jar is perfectly capable of being exactly what it was always meant to be. It only needs handled with a carefully considered delicateness.

I don’t want the cookie jar to be used for cookies anymore. It has become more to me now. It has given more than its due. I like this cookie jar exactly as it is today. It shouldn’t require an adjustment in its care. It deserves more. It deserves to continue to provide the joy that it always has. This cookie jar will survive my lifetime and though one can never be sure, I like to think that it will last even beyond.

Cookies are one of life’s better niceties. Cookie jars are the keeper of these. The niceties this cookie jar now provides for my forever, are more fulfilling than the joys of before. They always will be. Passage of time ensures this, and the wonder of a cookie jar should not be dismissed simply because of a broken lid.