The smell of Thanksgiving stuffing brings me back to when she was here. My grandmother. It was her recipe that we ate for years and didn't realize how much we would miss one day. It is simple and any stranger who eats with us will never know how special that stuffing is. But we know!

One year, I wanted to make the stuffing but didn't have the recipe. I called my sweet grandmother and she talked me through how to make it. So I have a piece of paper with crazy handwriting on it. I was trying to hold the phone, cook, and write it down all at the same time. That piece of paper brings back such a fun memory of just being on the phone with her and soaking up time with her even though we weren't together in the same room.

Each year since, I whip out my paper with chicken scratch writing on it so I can make her recipe. It brings me so much joy to include her in the holidays in delicate ways like making her stuffing.

Do you have special memories or traditions around the holidays? 

I'm happy to help if you don't! Gather the family for some photos that everyone can cherish. I promise, documenting things (even in crazy handwriting while on the phone with your grandmother) will bring joy for years to come.