Acts of Love and Tradition

So I come from a family with lots of traditions...whether or not obvious to everyone else there are certain things that just are. One big tradition that as we've gotten older we've lost is our holiday family get together's. Growing up we always spent days with my moms sister and her family and my grandma. We would take turns at each others houses for each holiday, but we were always together; all the same jokes were told, the same games played and the same rolls served. My grandma, god bless, her was always good for a few laughs, lots of help where needed and her fabulous rolls. As we've grown old and moved all over the country we've spend the las few Christmas's apart. And it was just never the same. Well this Christmas we are going back to our old ways. All 13 of us will spend the holidays on Marco Island at my aunt and uncles house; grandma too! She's now 92 years old and loosing her mind (sometimes) her balance (a lot) and her stamina (she sleeps at the table). However I have taken it upon myself to make sure that we have rolls! I called my mother, who has the recipe and has tried to make them before. She said o.k... they're not easy, they take a while... So I planned to practice many times to get it right so that on Christmas morning we could have grandmas rolls. I also told my grandma of my plan and this is was her reaction; (it makes smile) "ooooh you are? (she chuckles) Good Luck!" She still has her spunk.
This past weekend I went to the store and got all the ingredients...and while Adam watched football on my couch I began the arduous task that is Grandma's Rolls.
.
.
.
.
4 hours later.........(they have to rise!)

Adam helped by cutting the rolls "make them pretty" the recipe says :)
then you wait......another 3 hours!!!!
Finally @ 11:30 p.m. I finished the now infamous rolls...and they came out perfect!!

Now I just hope that when I make them again, for Christmas, they come out as good. This batch is going to N.C....after Adam and myself "tested" 4, just to be sure.

The whole process of making these rolls really is an act of love, I appreciate all the time my grandma put into to make these for us 3 x's a year...and making sure that we always had them. I am proud to keep this tradition alive this year. I just hope she's proud...and that she remembers that she didn't make them....cause that would be the start of a whole new story to tell!!