It's the Little Things

We had a fruitcake in our family.  No, I'm not talking about my Great Aunt Jean.  Although, remind me to tell you that story some day ... I mean an actual fruitcake.  Now if you're like most families, you do one of two things when you receive a fruitcake.  Either you consume said fruitcake, (If this is you, please let me know.  We've been curious about who that individual is who actually eats said delicacy.) or you do what the majority of us do.  You paste a very practiced and very fake smile on your face while exclaiming "fruitcake!" as if you've just hit the mother lode of Yuletide blessings.  Our family, never being one for the expected approach, started our own tradition. 

One year my sister gave my brother a fruitcake for Christmas.  Or perhaps it was one of her children in a heartfelt effort to personally pick out a present for Uncle Dan.  Not sure really.  A little fuzzy on the details.  End result was that Dan ended up with a fruitcake.  Not feeling a need to consume this brick of fruit packed preservatives, he threw it on his dresser.  Where it sat until the next Christmas.  At this point in time, Dan proceeded to regift the fruitcake to my sister.  Not being one to be outdone, the fruitcake began to make the rounds to various family members.  Somewhere along its travels it added a t-shirt and a card to its entourage.  Both were appropriate to the fruitcake theme.  I'll skip the actual content to avoid impinging on any copyrite.  Let's just say they still bring a small chuckle after all these years.

Don't quote me on this, as I'm not sure exactly how the confusion came about, but one year there was some general question about who exactly was in possession of the fruitcake.  A quick replacement was thrown in the mix and now there were two fruitcakes making the rounds.  The mail system was burning up as the fruitcakes were mailed, traded and foisted upon unsuspecting relatives until the stroke of midnight on Christmas Day.  If you think we haven't already carried this joke too far, you're wrong.  One year, due to some unfortunate circumstances with a decomposing fruitcake (who knew they would actually decompose?!), a sponge fruitcake entered the picture.  Definitely the gift that keeps on giving.

Just to conclude this saga for those of you who haven't fallen asleep by now, the remaining fruitcake came to a sad and final end this past year.  Thinking that I was being organized, I packed the fruitcake away with the Christmas decorations in the attic.  Thus, I reasoned, I will remember to pass the fruitcake along come the holiday season.  Unfortunately for the fruitcake and our enduring family tradition there turned out to be some hungry furry occupants in our attic.  Just to make sure this piece of baked perfection comes to a fitting end, I am now in the process of writing an obituary, placing it in a sympathy card and passing it along with my condolences to my brother, Dan.  'Tis a sad day indeed.