Paradigm Shift

The guys used to want me for my body...

Now they only want me for my cookies.

No really, chocolate chip cookies. Or oatmeal cookies. Or brownies. Or whatever dessert I manage to concoct in my kitchen when the mood suits me. What's up with that?

Hey, I'm not complaining. I just find it weirdly (and privately) hilarious my cookies are now taking the center stage. This one time, Alpha guy dropped by for a quick visit because he "missed" me and once he got to my house, went immediately for the cookie jar.

And then there's the childhood friend who, whenever he finds out I'm heading their direction, I get a cryptic SMS saying, "Cookies!" And if you think that comes with strings attached, you've got it wrong. He'll drive by the shop, drop a belated "hi!", smooch internet time from this laptop to show me his latest pictures online ( I call it his 'Show and tell', grab his cookies and wave goodbye. It's like raising a teenager. Haha.

I was forced to learn baking by my then-pregnant and migraine-prone mom when I was 10 years old so we could have snacks for recess breaks at school. As active kids, we definitely needed to learn how to cook and bake our own food because our parents wouldn't give us an allowance and one of them was out of commission for a few months.

After those few months, I hardly held the mixer or the spatula for the next 20 years. I even protested when the H bought this 5-burner range saying it was too big. But he loved cooking and he owns the kitchen so I said, what the heck? I eat what he cooks with relish anyway- well, most of the time.

A few months later, my mother suddenly showed up at our doorstep and simply said, "Let's make some fruitcake!" It's a tradition in our place where nearly each family had their own version. After a few days she left with nearly all of the fruitcake with her, happy that she was able to continue with tradition.

After that event, I decided to experiment with some recipes, with my cookies apparently being the most successful, since the h and the sis would happily munch them, even fighting for the last piece. Then my friends followed. Oh yes, some catfights and grudges have happened because of those cookies, particularly between childhood friend and another close friend. One time the former ate like 10 for breakfast and another 5 during lunch and left crumbs for the other one. Goodness.

Well, it is kind of nice to be looked at another way other than a booty call but it does take some adjusting to be seen as a food source. Literally. Talk about paradigm shift. Haha