This is a sponsored post by Tootsie Pops and these opinions are 100% my own.
It’s a widely accepted fact that old people in church always have “the candy”—usually the peppermint, the butterscotch and that weird strawberry hard candy that I rarely, if ever, see in the stores. (I think it just materializes in their pockets once they hit a certain age.)
As a child, I remember walking into church with my parents and instantly being surrounded by old people who wanted to share their affection for me with candy.
“Go on, you can have one,” my mother would say as I pondered which piece of candy I’d take from an old woman’s outstretched palm. I was a lollipop kid (Tootsie Pops were my favorite), but since most of the older members only carried around the Big Three, I would usually pick peppermint and I’d fiddle with the wrapper all through the church service.
Six-year-old me, ready for some candy
Growing up in the AME church, the weekly church service could range from 90 minutes (ha!) or over two hours on an average week. And if you count Christmas or Easter service? The sun would rise and set before you were through.
Without that little bit of candy to help regulate your blood sugar, who knows how many folks would have been passed out in the pews? I wondered if maybe the older people weren’t just happy to see us, but they also knew that we were in for a long sermon and that moment when we were ready to move on to lunch.
On occasion, I could get a Tootsie Pop out of my mom’s purse and use the little bit of sugar as energy to get us home where we would have a proper late lunch/early dinner. It was always a special day when that happened, because usually my mom didn’t carry too much candy on her person. It felt like I had won the lottery!
The best part was licking the lollipop on and on, knowing I’d get my reward as soon as I made it to the center. Like anyone, there were a few times I couldn’t resist and had to bite through.
Now that I’ve got kids of my own, I appreciate those older members who (still!) offer my kids candy. They usually go for peppermint (just like mom!).
And if they happen to find a Tootsie Pop in my purse, it is a very, very special day indeed.
What memories from your childhood do you see your children repeating?
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