thursday, august 30th, 2007

Raising two energetic boys, ages five and two, is hard enough. To attempt to do it with a broken arm, the right arm no less, the arm you write with, type with, unscrew caps with, it's just too much for a busy mom to handle. Unfortunately, that's the sticky situation my friend Amy finds herself in at the moment. She lives in the Bay Area so I don't see her as much as I'd like and gauge the time in between by the inches her boys have grown since the last time I saw them. I was looking forward to getting together with them a few weeks ago in Pennsylvania where her in-laws live. We planned to meet at a spot sure to wow the pants off any kid, The Crayola Factory at Two Rivers Landing. A few days before the trip, I received the broken arm email.

Amy was my climbing partner in Seattle and I know from experience that she's an energetic woman. Always game for adventure, she was biking with her boys when she took a serious spill and broke her arm. Now her emails are hunt and peck affairs and I appreciated the multi-sentence message I received as I'm sure it took her hours. Crayola plans dashed, this situation seemed to require more than a Get Well Soon card. I decided to bake her a batch of brownies, but they couldn't be just any brownies. These had to be the kind of brownies so chalk-full of goodies that even the most frustrating day in an itchy, clunky cast brightens a bit with one of these in hand. These treasure troves include bits of crunchy toffee, sticky caramel, spongy marshmallows and rich chocolate chunks all tied together with a chewy brownie base. The recipe is from Martha Stewart Living and I decided to make these for Amy because when I sent them a few years ago to a relative hunkered down in the hospital, he told me they were the only bright spot in his day. Bright spot? Just what Amy needs right now. Get well soon, my friend.
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