I Love Chocolate… by JoAnn

A red heart with chocolate melting on it.

Anyone who knows me well, knows I have a huge sweet tooth. With that being said, you have probably already assumed that I like chocolate. And you would be correct!

Since my very first Hershey milk chocolate bar was given to me as a little girl, it has been my favorite. I’ve tried many chocolates in my 57 plus years, but I always find myself going back to the most basic of American chocolate.

With my pronounced love of the Hershey bar, it only makes sense that I would eventually find the adorable Hershey Kiss. My first thought of that cute little chocolate drop is how they got so much flavor in that one little bite?!

I prefer to believe, or use as an excuse, that I got my insatiable love of all things sweet from my dad! My mom could eat one or two fun size candy bars and feel as though she wouldn’t need another sugar fix for days. My dad…not so much. Much like myself, my dad enjoyed and wanted something sweet every day.

In his later years, when my mom had lost her health and could no longer cook, my dad’s big appetite took a hit. Being over 6-foot-tall, and over 200 lbs., my dad was a strong, hardworking, big man. He was used to consuming some calories. He learned how to cook the basics in order to feed himself and my mom. And he found ways of incorporating sweets into his daily life.

How you say? By keeping a nice little supply of chocolate kisses in his front shirt pocket! Many nights I witnessed my dad watching the news on TV while I listened to the sound of the foil being peeled from another chocolate kiss. I don’t know if my mom ever caught on to his shenanigans (he really did try to be quiet), or if she simply decided to let him have his kisses without complaint. All I know is, he was adorable with those chocolate kisses in his shirt pocket. Needless to say, any kid in the family liked him a lot better when they realized he had them.

Now that my dad has been gone for many years now, I still can’t look at a chocolate kiss without thinking of him. And yes, it does tempt me even more to buy them when I see a bag in the store. Of all the things you could hand down to me Daddy, why the love of sweets? And those darn chocolate kisses! How do they get that much flavor into that tiny little drop?

As I sit typing this on my laptop, an unopened bag of Hershey Kisses is within my eye’s view. I think he would like the new packaging.

I love you Daddy.