Grandma Netta hadn’t really celebrated the holidays for years. The decorations remained in their boxes, the radio silent, and December came and went just like any other month, only colder, only darker. After her husband died, the holidays were too loud with memories, too full of spaces he used to fill.
But this year was different.
This year, the grandchildren came back home from out of town.
The thought arrived softly at first, like a knock she almost didn’t hear. Then it stayed. It followed her through the grocery store, where she paused longer than usual in the baking aisle. It lingered as she stood in her kitchen one morning, sunlight slanting across the counter, dust motes floating like tiny stars.
Something came to her mind now: how the children would jostle for stools, legs swinging, waiting for the oven timer. How their fingers kept darting inside the sugar when they thought she wasn’t looking. How laughter warmed a house more quickly than any heater did.
Grandma Netta strapped on her apron.
She chose strawberry cinnamon rolls because they felt special. Not the kind you rushed through, not the kind you bought in a box. These took time. The dough needed patience. The filling needed care. The strawberries-fresh, red, and bright-felt like a small act of hope in the middle of winter.
As she worked, her hands remembered what her heart had forgotten. Kneading was rhythm. Folding dough seemed to hold a promise. The scent of cinnamon and strawberries wafted in the air, filling the silent house with something almost like joy.
When the rolls went into the oven, Grandma Netta sat at the table and waited. She didn’t hurry the moment. She let it be what it was.
Before long, the house had the smell of the holidays.
When at last the grandchildren arrived boots thumping, voices tumbling over one another, laughter spilling through the door they paused.
“Grandma,” one of them breathed, eyes wide. “What smells so good?”
And then she smiled, really smiled-the kind that starts deep and reaches the eyes.
“Something homemade,” she said. “Just for you.”
And as they sat down at the table, pulling apart warm strawberry cinnamon rolls sticky and sweet, Grandma Netta realized one thing soft and true:
And the holidays hadn’t left her yet. All they’d been doing was waiting-for love to walk back through the door.
Recipe:
Strawberry cinnamon rolls are a delicious twist on the classic breakfast treat! They’re soft, gooey, and filled with a sweet strawberry filling, topped with a tangy strawberry cream cheese icing.
To make strawberry cinnamon rolls, you’ll need ingredients like flour, yeast, sugar, eggs, butter, strawberries, and cinnamon. The process involves making a dough, letting it rise, rolling it out, spreading the strawberry filling, and baking until golden brown.
- Strawberry Compote Filling: Made with fresh or frozen strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice
- Strawberry Cream Cheese Icing: A mix of cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and strawberry puree
- Freeze-Dried Strawberries: Add an intense strawberry flavor to the icing
Thee Juju Aura 
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