Sweet Teeth

My family and friends all know that I love sweets. Although not a necessity, I think desserts make a meal complete. My favorite dessert? Anything chocolate.

Chocolate is versatile. It comes in endless different forms. A cup of hot chocolate in a fine cold morning warms my entire body. It fills my belly. I think hot cocoa is a treat, and that makes me feel cheery.

When I was growing up, I would occasionally have 2 pieces of minted chocolate after dinner. Other nights I would have chocolate ice cream. Yet other nights, we would have a few selections from fancy boxed chocolate.

Chocolate is a special bond for my grandfather, my mother and I. Grandpa didn’t talk much. Action spoke a million words for him. Chocolate no doubt was his favorite sweet. He would buy chocolate and share with us. I remember his loving smile while he was chewing his chocolate and handing me the box. I remember when his memory was slowly fading him, he would still enjoy eating chocolate. Part of Grandpa’s memory surfaces when I eat little pieces of chocolate.

My mother, like her father, also loves chocolate. She sometimes eats chocolate at night, before she works on her writing, her talk, or material for a workshop. And chocolate reminds me of my mother. I can see her smiling eyes while savoring the mouthful of chocolate. It can be chocolate ice-cream, chocolate mousse, chocolate cheesecake, whatever form of food our imagination can lift chocolate up to.

I enjoy eating all kinds of chocolate not only because I have a sweet tooth. Chocolate reminds me of the invisible connection with my family. I understand it is not any chocolate that somehow creates this link; it is what I think chocolate means. Chocolate can appear in mysterious forms, and there will be endless products created from a combination of some simple ingredients.

Happiness is within me. I think of chocolate as a catalyst to nudge me to treasure little moments of joy, to remember my family, and to experience the carefree spirit especially when life seems to be stressful.