The Christmas Key Lime Pie Caper
I’m a Baby Boomer mom. (no big reveal here since I’m 65 and I have two 35+ children). That designation comes with a profile. Like many of my colleagues I tend to…(1) be 911 on my adult children’s cell phones; (2) drop everything or even pull off to the side of the road while driving for an incoming Facetime call with grandchildren; (3) feel excruciating joy from spending alone time with my two kids sans in-laws (3) have my credit card on the ready for plane tickets, dining experiences, or starbuck purchases; etc. etc. etc.An MO (modus operandi) of our family is game playing- board games, scavenger hunts, charades, etc. etc. We love a good challenge. So when my son presented me with a challenge for the holidays just past, I took it on like a military mission.“Mom, I’ve been thinking.” (uh oh, that often means I need to get out my credit card). “Since you are coming up to Chicago for Christmas, you should bring something particularly representative of Florida with you.” (Am I not representative enough? I thought. I was actually born in the state. Won’t I do?)“Ok, I’ll bite, what are you thinking?” (a fortuitous statement considering what came next)“I’m thinking you should bring up a key lime pie for Christmas dinner. We are having Katie’s family over and a Florida dessert would be an excellent addition.”“Uh, how do you propose I get it there?” I asked in a tentative voice.“You’ll be on Southwest so you can just carry it on. In fact, you should bring two in case one doesn’t make it”. My husband at this point is busily googling how to have key lime pies shipped from Florida to Chicago but since it was already the Friday before Christmas, there was no room at the inn, or at least no key lime pie at the inn.“This is impossible”, Jim (husband) weighs in. “I think we are up to this challenge provided I don’t have to make them” I respond.So…the first order of business was finding the pies. “Eureka!” I shout. “Charlie’s Bakery in south Orlando (30 minutes from our home) still has key lime pies but they are going fast. “ “Save them” I begged, “we are on our way.” Safely stored in our freezer, the second task was finding carriers. Bed Bath & Beyond claimed to sell them, so off we went to the closest location.
“We only have one.” We were told by the nice store manager but our location in Casselberry has fifteen (30 minutes away).” Off we went in pursuit of carrier number two.
“Success!” We now had the pies and the carriers. A cooler bag and ice packs were also purchased to keep the pies cold for transport. All in all these pies cost us around $100 and three hours of driving amid holiday traffic. (So of course we had to reward ourselves with alcoholic refreshments at a favorite place)
The upshot is that the pies made it safe and sound in the overhead bin surrounded by coats and backpacks. They were a huge hit among our Midwest in-laws and my son was exceedingly proud.
Yes, $100 + three hours of searching+ 45 minutes of icy pies on my husband's lap during the journey from airport to Evanston seems silly and unnecessary. But it was for my son, who I totally adore; and the challenge was fun. #thelifeofababyboomermom.