A Moment in My Life – Monday, September 7, 2020
Today is a unique Labor Day. Everything about this year has been extraordinary. It’s been one adventure after another like a new theme park with outrageous rides different from all theme parks to attract people.
Year after year, my church held a festive Labor Day picnic complete with food, fun, and games for all, a pinata for the little kids, and a contest for the big kids. These events take many people to orchestrate but well worth it. I was among the kitchen and service helpers, which was an all-day affair. The highlight for me was the big kid contest.
The first year’s contest was a cookie bake-off for the big girls, which I participated in. There were two categories, a chocolate chip, and all other categories. There were no limits to the number of cookie entries, so I submitted three of my favorites, oatmeal raisin, malted ball, and a mocha chocolate and vanilla heart. Cathy Tong took the prize for her to-die-for (emphasis mine) chocolate chip cookie. Oh, how I wished I could make a chocolate chip cookie as good as hers. I was pleasantly surprised to hear an echo of my name wafting into the kitchen where I was when they announced the winner of the “other cookie category.” I raced out to the patio to receive my prize. After I received the award, I had to ask which cookie won. It was Mark’s oatmeal raisin cookie recipe!
In all fairness, we gave the big boys a chance to compete a couple of years later, when the Labor Day picnic contest was a chili cook-off. Mark was more excited than a little boy on Christmas eve. Mark wasn’t a cook or baker, but that man had the magic finger when he got involved. I was never into oatmeal raisin cookies or chili until he introduced me to both with his mouthwatering recipes. With that said, his chili took the bronze, losing only to the bison and another more downhome version of chili.
Those were fun days. There will be more fun Labor Day picnics—just not this year. I hope everybody found a fun and safe way to enjoy this Labor Day despite Covid-19 causing a restriction of gatherings, the beach and public area closures, the record-breaking heatwave, and the poor air quality caused by the record-breaking number of fires.
Be Happy and Stay Safe! 💜🖖
