when i was young, both my sets of grandparents had a candy tin, filled to the brim with a rotating selection of sweet treats for when the grandchildren came to visit.
nana + poppa had a black tea tin with a floral pattern, and a lid with a round knob [very similar to the top centre, below]. i can remember the slight resistance when i'd try to lift the lid, and the soft *pop* of suction as it would release, revealing the candies inside. they usually stocked a variety of hard candies, my favourites being these fruit-flavoured ones where you'd come to a soft squishy centre after you sucked for a while.
gaya + poppa 'c' had a jaunty red rectangular tin made to look like an english double decker bus. inside could be a wide range of goodies, but my faves here were the individually wrapped trebor gummies, mainly the long rectangular jujubes covered in sugar.
i trolled around etsy for these vintage candy tins today, they are so delightful. i love the idea of my kids seeing them on my parents' shelves, and wondering what kinds of treats are inside. perhaps this old tradition will continue.
this past winter, i lost both my remaining grandparents within a couple months of each other. while it was a difficult time, i have had the chance to reminisce a lot about the things i loved about them, and the memories i have of growing up with them in my life. i would say i'm pretty lucky to have had almost 32 years of grandparents, and that i got to know all four. they are so unconditionally loving. it always amazed me that no matter what, they were there to listen and to love. even in those really awful + awkward teenage years, when i know i wasn't at my best.
when i think back to the furthest memories i can muster, i realize that my son is now even a little older than i was in those memories. meaning that when he's a grown man with kids of his own, he'll remember himself, at this very age, doing the things that he does. and that the time he spends with his grandparents, the special bonding moments and the everyday routines, will be etched in the far reaches of his memory.
i wonder what he'll think. i wonder what he'll remember. what he'll cherish. and i think that maybe i'll have to get a candy tin for the grandparents.
