A candied column

I have attachments to certain candies.

Some are formed by taste alone, like the one I have with M&Ms.

Others come from a combination of taste and nostalgia, like the reason I’m attached to Werther’s Originals.

Those hard candies taste good, but they were also one of my Pappaw’s favorites.

I think about him when I eat one.

Some are born from nostalgia alone.

Three Musketeers bars won’t win my taste test, but I remember my Pawpaw when I eat them.

He said he hoped there’d be Three Musketeers in Heaven.

I hope he eats all he wants now.

Early in my weight-loss journey, I’d reward myself with a share bag of plain M&Ms when I met a goal I’d set along the way.

Now I grab a fun-size bag from the office candy jar every so often.

I also eat them on “free days,” after I weigh and feel good enough about the week’s effort to let myself go a little.

Today is a free day. Yesterday was, too.

I finished off a bucket of red-white-and-blue mix, but not without comment from my nieces.

They turned 4 earlier this month, and some nights the M&Ms serve as their “prize” after supper.

If they see me eat an M&M at any time other than when they get their prizes, they either bring their brother and come ask for one or they announce it to the world.

“CASEY’S EATING M&Ms!!!”

All I can do is laugh when I get caught with my hand in the chocolate bucket, because they’re much sweeter than the candy.

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This post is a response to Sue’s prompt, which is “candy.”