I did it. I made doughnuts and latkes and just like in the song, I served it at the Chanukah candles burning bright

The thing with memories is that they have to be created. The problem with creating them is that the mother of the house is in charge of making, creating, and cleaning up all that memory making.

I personally have fond memories of rolling cookie dough and using Chanukah cookie cutters and decorating said cookies with an array of glazes and toppings.

And I remember the experimental carrot in the oil sizzling as my mother dropped in ball after ball of perfectly risen and shaped doughnut dough that we later filled with custard and jelly.

And of course, I want to make it happen in my house too. The problem is I’m tired and expecting and have all my kids home because we’re a girls-only family, and it’s vacation.

If you’re thinking that I should take it easy and wait for next year, I remember last year. It wasn’t much better. I was also tired and my kids were also home and the flu was going around. So I can’t guarantee next year will be better.

But don’t you worry, I did it. I made doughnuts and latkes and just like in the song, I served it at the Chanukah candles burning bright. But no one ate the latkes. They like French fries better.

As I sift the flour for the doughnuts, Daughter Number Three insists she wants to see. Of course I let her, because, hey, the only reason I’m making doughnuts is to create memories. But she bumps into the sifter and everything turns white. All my kids cluster around the pot of oil as I dump the dough in, and I feel nothing but exhaustion. The balls don’t magically float to the top or puff up or turn a miraculous shade of gold. They stay hard and lumpy.

But hey, it’s all about the glazes and toppings. So off to the table we go with glazes and toppings, while the counter is still covered with the spilled flour. I can’t just sit and watch them lick the glaze with their fingers and dip the doughnuts and then lick off the cream and leave the doughnuts on the plate. No, I supervise and intervene and quash nausea as they lick the cream and use the same finger to smear the doughnuts.

And my eyes glaze over, too.