Madeline’s happy place, or at least one of many, is when her little five-year-old hands are clutching a piece of chocolate. She has a sweet tooth like no other. For the most part, she is non-discriminatory when it comes to chocolate … she pretty much likes it all.
Until those days when she asks for a piece from my special stash.
For a few years now, I have had a small bag of assorted chocolate not-so-hidden in my baking cabinet. Away from little hands. In the bag, I keep the most intense, expensive, delicious pieces of chocolate. For those moments when an also-ran piece of chocolate won’t do, and you need something s-p-e-c-i-a-l. She knows it’s there. She doesn’t ask for it often, but upon occasion, she will.
And that is how she got introduced to the finer chocolates in life.
Like Godiva.
Godiva and I go way back. I remember in high school, with a pocket full of babysitting money, I would occasionally splurge for a small piece of chocolate from the Godiva store at the mall. Savoring every last taste of it. A pure indulgence at its best.
And now, she is following in those very same footsteps.
Except she’s not using her babysitting money.
Natch.
Our newest chocolate indulgence? These truffle flights. Each flight of six builds in flavor and intensity, from left to right, and you will find yourself oohing and aahing over every bite. They have several flights to choose from, but our favorite, so far, is the Heavenly Mousse Flight.
Having little moments with the kids, one-on-one, is really important to me. To them. They need to feel that they have my undivided attention. Sometimes because they have something on their mind that they want to talk about without sibling interruption. Sometimes it’s just nothing more than sharing a bite to eat and talking about our day.
But those little moments aren’t so little. They’re huge.
Occasionally, after they’ve both gone upstairs for the night, I’ll sneak into one of their rooms and whisper for them to come downstairs. And we share an after-bedtime treat quietly. A handful or two of fresh popped popcorn. A just-made s’more. Or one of the special chocolates from my cabinet.
And these are the moments that I’m hoping they remember years down the road.
And when they pass that Godiva store in the mall with their own kids, they’ll smile and start the tradition all over again.
*For each post (even on Twitter and Instagram) that uses the hash tag #TruffleTakeOff, the generous folks at Godiva will donate $1 to help fight hunger (#NYCWFF). Posting for a good cause is pretty much my favorite reason.
Tomorrow? Nick’s favorite new (sometime) after-school treat.
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Godiva really is the good stuff. Perfect for sharing memories over.
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