A quirky habit passed from one generation to the next

Doughnuts from Kuipers Family Farm near Maple Park.

I have many habits, but can honestly say most are harmless and not too strange.

A few of my habits are adopted from friends and relatives, including my father. I recently caught myself practicing one of dad’s quirkier habits.

I visited Kuipers Family Farm, a favorite site in Maple Park. Kuipers offers an apple orchard, a corn maze, a variety of autumn attractions, natural Christmas tress and other items. They also have a country store, where the merchandise includes baked goods, including cinnamon doughnuts.

Lori, my wife, sent me to Kuipers to buy a bag of honeycrisp apples and ordered me to stay away from the bakery counter. I forgot Lori’s ban on baked goods the moment I stepped through the store’s front door, and I purchased a dozen cinnamon doughnuts without hesitation. 

I felt guilty about ignoring Lori’s ban, and she scolded me later that night. I had consumed two of the delicious doughnuts by then and was planning a schedule for consuming the remaining ones, so I guess I didn’t feel too guilty about ignoring Lori. Besides, I shared some of the doughnuts with her.

It was that night when I realized what I had done was similar to what my dad frequently.

Dad came home with tasty treats. His work took him throughout Chicago and northern Illinois, and dad became familiar with bakeries, restaurants and farm stands in the area. 

Dad carried home pies, cookies, coffeecakes, fruit, vegetables, fresh meats and ice cream. It was all great stuff to a child, and my siblings and I enjoyed every bite.

There was little regularity to dad’s food presentations. He’d return home with fruits and vegetables at the end of a work day one week and present a rich-tasting coffeecake on the weekend. He then might reverse the order of presentations the next week. Some weeks didn’t include any treats, but other weeks might involve several items. 

Some of Dad’s food purchases became annual traditions. He would bring home boxes of holiday cookies from Chicago’s renown Maurice Lenell bakery. The pinwheels and the raspberry jellies were my favorites. The bakery closed its doors in 2008, but it lives on in my Christmas memories.

Dad passed away in 1995, but I still miss him and think about him nearly every day.  He was a wonderful dad for many reasons, and I cherish my memories of his quirky habits.

I suppose Lori and the rest of my family will just have to endure me bringing home tasty treats. I wonder if I can build an annual tradition around cinnamon doughnuts.