Bites o' Hugs

This is a picture of Allie, my roommate. Occasionally she bakes cookies or cupcakes, usually on special occasions. Today, she made whoopie pies. For this batch, the cake part was lemon flavored, and the filling was strawberry. I had been having a stressful day, so when I came home I was not thinking about pastries. I walked in the door ready to complain about all the work I had to do, but Allie looked at my with a smile and told me to try one of her whoopie pies. When I took a bite, I immediately felt better. All of the stress seemed to fall away from my shoulders, and I couldn't help but smile back at Allie. I told her that it tasted just like a hug would taste. She replied by explaining that everything she bakes, she makes with love. I couldn't help but think about the connection between love and food. When someone wants to express love for us, they often make us something to eat. Whenever I go home for breaks, my mom always plans to make me my favorite foods. To make ourselves feel better when we are upset, we often make ourselves something nice to eat. Food is very representative of love in our culture. And today, instead of giving me a hug and telling me to feel better, Allie gave me one of her whoopie pies.