True Love

A few nights ago, I was sitting at the kitchen table compiling a media list for a client. It was past midnight, and my caffeine buzz was slowly wearing off. As I stared absentmindedly around the kitchen, my gaze fell on the cookie jar.

In our house, the blue and white ceramic jar holds Oreo cookies (double, never single-stuffed). Oreos are as much a staple in our house as milk and bread. The Oreos, though we all indulge, are mostly for my Dad.

*Fun fact: My obsession with coffee started with Oreos. As a kid, I would dip my cookies into my parents steaming mugs (and leave cookie pieces floating in their brew). Eventually, I started drinking the coffee, not just dunking my cookies. Thus, an addiction was born.

Anyway, currently, our cookie jar has a DIY addition. Under the lid is a layer of aluminum foil. I first noticed the foil when I returned home from college. Laughing at the sight, I went to find my Dad and heckle him.

Punching him playfully in the arm, I badger him about his invention. Looking up from his laptop with a confused look on his face, he replies that the foil contraption is all my mother's doing. I find her to investigate.

Me: Mom, why did you put aluminum foil on the cookie jar?

Mom: For Dad.

Me: :Stars quizzically:

Mom: In the summer he complains that the Oreos get stale from all the humidity. I put the foil under the lid to make sure his cookies stay fresh.

...If that isn't love, I don't know what is.

The moral of the story? I hope to one day find a man who will construct a shield out of foil to make sure my favorite cookies don't go stale. Because, sometimes the smallest gestures take up the most room in your heart.

And love doesn't get any sweeter than fresh Oreos.