Woman finds priceless treasure from her mom while cleaning her parents' home after their passing

Memories are a cherished source that keeps our late loved ones alive. It helps us grieve their loss and maintain family traditions. A heartfelt video shared by Lisa Jones–who goes by @gigglesbyjones on Instagram–reflected on reconnecting with her mother through a toffee recipe. During a clean-up drive at her late parents' old house, the 34-year-old got her hands on what she described as "treasure," taking her back to childhood Christmas nostalgia.

The Los Angeles-based blogger unexpectedly lost both her mom and dad in May 2023 "within a day of each other," per her video. "I've spent the past six months cleaning out their home (my family home) to get it ready to sell," the text overlay on the video read as it featured different sections of the now empty house. She further revealed how the time without her parents has been "emotionally taxing" since the beginning of the clean-up exercise. "Despite how hard it has been cleaning out the house, there have been some beautiful moments," she elaborated.

While cleaning up the house, she found some beautiful treasures, such as her mother's "master recipe binder." She flipped some pages in the video but found one important recipe missing from the binder. Her mother's famous "Christmas toffee" recipe was not there. "I was crestfallen. I would not be able to continue the tradition," she expressed her dismay. However, during her last clean-up session on Sunday, the agents found one last kitchen cabinet that everyone had forgotten about. It had some things like "rogue holiday cups, college water bottles, etc." But things changed when they discovered some "first edition cookbooks." "I found a beat-up cookbook that had bookmarks and that's when I found it," Jones described finding her mother's toffee recipe. "I'd like to think my mom guided me to the recipe and will cherish this moment," she mentioned in the text overlay as the video concluded, leaving viewers teary-eyed.

Emphasizing the importance of the recipe, Jones told Newsweek, "My mom would spend an entire weekend working on it." During the multi-step process, from soaking the candies in chocolate to topping them with nuts, the now-professional writer used to assist her mother. The duo considered distributing the toffees to family and friends rewarding since everyone loved its taste.

People in the comments loved how Jones found her late mother's recipe and shared their stories. "My parents passed within three days of each other, three years ago. I also had to clear our family home of 50 years' worth of possessions and memories. It was the most difficult and exhausting thing to go through. However, I took my mother's handwritten recipe book and made her Christmas cake for the first time," commented @ellaangela_13.

@b_lcooper wrote, "The night before an interview for a job I really wanted, I remember wishing I had my mom to talk through it with me—how to interview and so on (she had passed away the year before). Well, I went into our storage room to grab something and ended up noticing a random notebook comprising interview tips by my mom." @fionamacgregor1962 said, "My parents both passed away exactly four weeks apart this year, in February and March. I am still sometimes totally overwhelmed by their passing and will love and miss them forever."

You can follow Lisa Jones (@gigglesbyjones) on Instagram for lifestyle content.