rituals – Callie J. Smith

Holiday Baking: A Gingerbread Legacy

Dec 3, 2025

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I know there’s more to the holidays than baking, but baking is simply one of those things my family does this time of year. It’s a ritual, a practice, an experience playing out over time that builds layers of memory and meaning. Even if I weren’t baking for holiday gatherings or for gifts, I’d still…

Claiming a Fast in Pandemic Time: On How We Carry What We Miss

Oct 21, 2021

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Callie J. Smith

in grief and memory

Before the pandemic, the scent of warm, yeasty bread would have filled the chapel. Someone from our school’s café would have walked down in the hour or so before the service to leave a fresh-baked loaf wrapped in a white towel on the table. We’d have smelled it through all the prayers, music, and spoken…

On the Changing of Seasons

Sep 4, 2021

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by

Callie J. Smith

in grief and memory

Lately, I’ve been fighting it. Pandemic life has meant so much change already. I’m feeing less and less desire to adapt. I’m feeling strongly protective of things I wouldn’t have expected to hold onto so tightly. As summer passes and days shorten, I find myself feeling inordinate amounts of grief about small things like the…