Joan: How did you handle the social distancing aspect - while shopping, cooking, packing, collecting, and any other tasks involved in this lovely project?
Maddie: This actually proved to be easier than anticipated. We decided to each take on one cookie recipe from start to finish (i.e., shopping, prepping, and baking). After all of the cookies were baked off in our respective kitchens, we met up at Emma's house and put the bags together, while maintaining social distance, of course. I delivered our Chicago orders while Emma took care of Evanston and other North suburbs.
Maddie and Emma at a week-long summer baking camp at Kendall College, 2005. They have been baking together since 1998 and got some formal training along the way.
(Image by Maddie Mays) Details DMCA
Joan: So efficient! How much were you able to turn over to Assata's Daughters in the end? Did you feel it was a good use of your time and energy?
Emma: We ended up raising just north of $1500 and couldn't have been prouder to turn over the money. We are baking anyway, so doing it for a good cause was a no-brainer. I would love to repeat this effort, and also am reminding myself that this is just one way to be active in the fight against racism. Donating time, donating money, protesting, reading up, listening, hosting and having conversations with our families and others -- we need to take a multi-pronged approach to change the racist systems that perpetuate inequality in this country. Also, while it did feel good to take action and I am proud of our contribution, this is also not about us or our feelings. It's about the injustice that persists and the work Assata's Daughters is doing to create change.
Maddie: I couldn't have said it better myself. And to your earlier point, Joan, it honestly felt like the best use of my time right now. I think it's easy to see protests or posting on social media as the only ways to be allies in this fight, but it feels particularly important to identify ways you as an individual can make a difference. As Emma mentioned, we're already doing so much baking recreationally that it seemed like a no-brainer to channel that energy into action.
Joan: We jumped right in and have been talking about your involvement in baking activism. So we haven't really had a chance to talk about how the two of you are handling the pandemic. How's it going for you? How have you been coping? How do close friends stay close while keeping a safe distance?
Emma: This is a crazy and unprecedented time! It's sad and scary to see how deadly COVID is and can be, and luckily I have been safe and surrounded by good people. My family/coworkers have made this time really special as we've been able to connect and spend quality time in ways that we weren't doing so before. Also, I have been able to spend more time with Maddie via FaceTime as we navigate new baking projects and deepen our skills.
Maddie: I second Emma all around. This moment feels like one for the history books, in so many ways. Feeling grateful for my health and people in my life who have been along for this ride. Although Emma and I haven't been able to hug or hang out in each other's homes, I've really enjoyed all of the joint activities we've gotten to indulge in the past few months over Zoom. Baking definitely tops the list but others have included game nights, book clubs, and weekly catch ups with friends from college who live across the country. Social distance walks together also help balance out the stir-crazy!
Joan: Now's the perfect moment to talk about this beautiful, deep and long-lasting friendship of yours. I'd love to hear some stories and I'm confident that our readers will, too. Maybe a good place to start would be how you became friends in the first place. What was it that attracted you and drew you together?
Maddie and Emma hosting one of their first dinner parties, 2004. Check out those napkins!
(Image by Maddie Mays) Details DMCA
Maddie: Emma and I first met at Hebrew school in third grade. As fuzzy as the initial meeting is in my mind, I still remember being so drawn to Emma's energy and positivity. Plus, she had the most incredible head of braids from a recent trip to Mexico that I thought was the coolest style I'd ever seen. We hit it off pretty quick and what once was a dreaded after school activity became the highlight of my week. After attending different elementary schools, we funneled into the same middle school, which is where I'd say our friendship was officially sealed. We spent nearly every day after school studying together, cooking and baking treats for our families, roaming around the mall, seeing movies, and learning entire Broadway musicals from front to back. Emma has been there through every life phase these past 21 years and, at this point, feels more like a sister to me than just a friend.
Emma: Ha! The braids. I totally rocked that style, I must admit! Maddie has been a staple in my family since we first met. The countless sleepovers (sometimes on school nights! -- oh how rebellious at the time...), the trips to NYC, the baking, the road trips, the late nights studying but really mostly watching YouTube and making up our own dances; we have done a lot of life together. We have seen each other through heartbreak, new relationships, death, trauma, you name it. Throughout it all, Maddie has been my rock, a source of sweetness and wisdom that I've counted on deeply to navigate it all. How can you really sum up 21 years of sweet friendship?
Joan: Lovely. Here's your chance to each share a gem from Maddie and Emma's Greatest Hits, if you'd like.
Maddie: Mine isn't a story per se but more of a sweet memory. When Em and I were in middle school, the movie Chicago came out in theaters and both of us were instantly hooked. We listened to the show constantly and lived out our full Broadway performance fantasies in each other's living rooms. There was one night where I believe I was sleeping over at Em's house and we were watching the movie with her mom, Dorothy. During Catherine Zeta Jones' number "I Can't Do It Alone," which is choreographed using a chair for a few key acrobatic moves, we each pulled out a chair and created our own reenactment of the dance. I just remember us belting those lyrics so loud and dancing with such whimsy that it felt like nothing could touch us. Pure joy! Also, in case you were wondering, we still perform these renditions with regularity today--Emma's signature is "Mister Cellophane" and mine is "Roxie."
Emma: Oh man, Maddie, you've outed me! I am giggling over here, the thought of a public "Mister Cellophane" rendition. One thing to know about Maddie -- she is incredibly organized and clean. Her bed is always perfectly made, her kitchen spotless, her artwork and home perfectly curated. One of my favorite Maddie-isms came in college, when we lived together our senior year. After a night out, the house a total wreck, we tried to coax Maddie into making us a massive bowl of salty popcorn, the perfect nightcap. I will never forget Maddie's response: "let's clean and then have fun!" Gotta love a lady with a vision!
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