PIEstory: Meet Crystal

A big ‘thank you’ to Crystal M. for sharing her PIEstory with the Crave Pie community.

Crave Pie: What is your all time favorite pie flavor?
Crystal M.: Apple pie is my all-time favorite pie flavor — although it’s not part of my PIEstory!

CP: Are you a pie baker?
CM: I’m not much of a baker but once a year, I bake Madison’s Pecan pie.

CP: Think back, what is your fondest memory of pie?  
CM: Several years ago, I had a student give me a pie basket for Christmas one year. This basket included everything I needed to make a gorgeous pecan pie, including hundreds of pecans my student and her mother meticulously collected from the pecan trees in their yard, along with their family pecan pie recipe. This particular student was one of the more challenging students I have had over many years of teaching, and I have many memories of her. She was severely behind academically, spent most of her days at school goofing off, and was quite the trouble maker. However, she was incredibly kind and, like most of us, just wanted to be loved.

Before my family Christmas celebration that year, I spent quite some time breaking open each pecan and harvesting the meat inside. Following the family recipe my student gifted to me, the pie turned out better than I could have hoped, especially seeing that I am not much of a baker. That first pecan pie was a hit, and now I make it every year, lovingly called Madison's Pecan Pie. It helps me remember that little girl and the special gift she and her mother gave me that Christmas.  

I recently heard from this particular student, who is now a senior in high school. Despite the challenges she and I shared while she was in my class, she remembers our time together fondly - as do I. She is on track to graduate and is planning on heading to college in the fall! I will always cherish the time and thought put into that gift, and each year as I make that pie I am reminded that, even if only for that brief school year, my students and I are family.

Have a PIEstory of your own? We want to hear it! Share it with us here and you could be featured on our blog and social media.