A Tuna Sandwich, Barbecue Chips, and a Lifetime of Memories

I had a few extra dollars in my pocket today and decided to take my daughter's advice.. "Treat yo-self!"

I wandered down the snack cake aisle at the supermarket but immediately did an about-face. Snack cakes just aren't what they used to be. 

Instead, I found myself in the cookie aisle where something caught my eye: Fig Newtons.

I couldn't remember the last time I had one. Growing up, they were about the only mass-produced cookie my mom would allow in the house. I tossed a package into the cart, wondering if they still tasted the way I remembered.

Then I grabbed a bag of Lay's Barbecue Potato Chips to go with lunch. It might not sound like much of a treat, but I promise you, it was.

When I got home, I made myself a thick tuna sandwich on wheat bread. Then I opened the bag of barbecue chips, covered the tuna with a generous layer, put the top slice of bread on, and pressed it down until the chips crunched into the tuna. I opened it back up, added a few more chips, and did it again. The first bite instantly transported me back decades.  Add in an ice cold Coca-Cola, poured into one of those vintage Tupperware plastic iced tea cups, and it was like I stepped into a time machine back to the 70s or 80s.

My cousin and I practically grew up together. She was my first best friend. Our moms were incredibly close, and many afternoons followed the same routine. They'd come home from the grocery store with a loaf of Roman Meal wheat bread, tuna, and a bag of Lay's Barbecue Potato Chips.

They'd make tuna sandwiches exactly the same way I made mine today.

And of course, my cousin and I copied everything they did.

Curious, I texted my cousin today and asked if she remembered those afternoons. She absolutely did. In fact, she laughed and admitted she had just made herself a tuna sandwich with potato chips the day before.. only with regular chips this time instead of barbecue.

I realized I hadn't made one of these in decades What's funny.. is that I can vividly remember those afternoons, yet I don't remember my mom ever making another tuna-chip sandwich after I was probably a preteen. Still, over the years I would overhear my mom and aunt fondly reminiscing about those lunches as if they had happened in another lifetime, and stating how they tasted sooo good.

I've noticed I'm having more moments like this lately. A memory, a smell, a taste, a certain food.. and suddenly I'm standing in my childhood again. I've always been amazed at how many of my memories are tied to food. My family is constantly surprised by the tiny details I remember from growing up, especially when it comes to meals, restaurants, and little traditions that everyone else has forgotten.

Before writing this, I shared the memory with my cousin. As I did, I realized something that caught me off guard. Many of the memories we carry through life may very well exist only inside us. The people who lived them with us may remember them differently or not at all. Some are gone. Some have been forgotten. That makes me want to tell these stories, almost as a way of keeping them alive. To make them real. To honor them before they quietly disappear.

To most people, a tuna sandwich with barbecue potato chips is just lunch. To me, it's history.. My history. And maybe these little, seemingly insignificant moments shaped me in ways I still don't fully understand, even now in my 50s. 

I guess sometimes, all it takes is something like a sandwich to remind you where you came from.