I HAD THE BEST TIME IN MY LIFE!

The temperature outside on December 25, 2022, was frigid when we got to Uncle Moss’s cozy Brooklyn apartment. He was cat-sitting two Siamese cats and felt challenged to keep Solly and her younger brother from getting too rowdy and frightening the kitties.

While her brother napped, Solly’s Uncle Moss’s cajoling started by having Solly help him make a fresh blend of hummus, and they served their creation with pita chips and freshly cut carrots. After that “finger-licking good” appetizer, her daddy and Grandma (me) joined Solly and Moss to play a round of her new game, “Tongues Out.” To use one of her current favorite lines, I’ll have you know Solly won “fair and square.”

More entertainment in the kitchen followed as Solly helped with the latke-free but the no-less satisfying main course of homemade pizza. Oil on the bare crust was a substitute for another round of greasy latkes (potato pancakes) commemorating the time the oil lasted eight days. Later, Moss had Solly join in while guiding her and her brother in lighting the Hanukkah candles on the last night of the holiday.

After a fun-filled afternoon, including some tickling and rolling around on the floor, as she hugged her uncle, an exuberant Solly, all of 3 1/2, blurted out, “I had the best time in my life!” Grandma here was all smiles, and all I could think was, “Out of the mouths of babes.”

Solly's wrap-up of the day was so telling. The memory is cemented joyfully in all our minds.

First time playing, Solly wins Tongues Out game fair and square!

Uncle Moss gets tackled

The cats survived the visit

Dizzy watches as Solly lights the menorah with Uncle Moss