Dancing with Cookies

One of my strongest, fondest memories of Petra and Larry-O's childhoods has to do with baking cookies. Specifically, chocolate chip cookies (classic Toll House recipe, with the following adjustments: three times as much vanilla; 1 c. brown sugar (dark); 1/2 c. white sugar). For some reason this had a soundtrack: Shawn Colvin's album, Fat City.

Last night, after the (remarkably good) obligatory turkey, rice, onion, chopped green beans and broccoli casserole, Larry asked if we had anything sweet in the house. The brownies Petra made on Thursday were long gone; he doesn't like pie. I said no, but perhaps we could throw something together. Petra quickly volunteered, the ingredients were assembled, and the chocolate chip cookies began to take shape.

At a certain point, yes, there was Shawn Colvin on the iPod, singing,

Oh, my soul, sometimes we don't know what to do
We work so hard being tough on our own
But now it's me and you
Just give it up, sad bones,
'Cause we all fall on hard times
But you don't have to stand up all alone
Just put your hand in mine
Climb on a back that's strong
You can get what you want
Climb on a back that's strong

And if you can save me a place in heaven
with a clean, well-lighted room,
I'll muscle up to Armageddon,
And I'll wave to you darlin': be home soon!
And if you could show me the story of love
I would write it again and again
And then you could be the woman you need
If you'll just let me be the man that I am
Climb on a back that's strong
You can get what you want
Climb on a back that's strong.

And we were all dancing and singing, Petra, Larry-O and me, the girls sticking to the original lyrics, Larry rapping some kind of crazy obligato in harmony, Petra and me spooning dough on the cookie sheets.

Sweet.