Picture by the lovely Mari Eriksson
Is this not the most beautiful picture of pancakes you have ever seen? It was taken by the lovely Mari Eriksson of the gorgeous blog An Angel At My Table, this picture literally bought me to (happy) tears and inspired this post, It's with a happy heart that I thank Mari for sharing her beautiful picture with me and allowing me to use it in this post :) If you have never seen her blog, you really should visit her...Her blog is so beautiful and her pictures are truly gorgeous!
Have you ever noticed that there is ALWAYS a time for pancakes? Day or night...breakfast..lunch..or dinner...shoot or like me...a 2 in the morning snack :) Everyone likes them different...in our house, my kids slather them with syrup..my youngest Anaissa...always steals MY apple cinnamon syrup...my husband loves them however I make them, I love them with warm strawberry compote...but my dad...my dad...well he made the most delicious...scrumptious pancakes that I have EVER eaten. No one else can match his...my mom has tried poor dear...but I am always the first to tell her...good... but nope!! ( I know even in my 40's I give my mama a hard time :) I have eaten them at some fru fru restaurants and some not so fru fru mom & pop joints and still no one made them like my dad....
When I was a young girl I remember waking up on Sunday mornings when he would make pancakes...mounds and mounds of delicious tiny... fluffy... yet crispy melt in your mouth...yes so good you wanna smack yo mama pancakes!! I would eat soo many that you could probably roll my lil butter ball butt back to bed! On weekends I hated...did I mention HATED waking up early...In fact...I hated it so much that most Sundays they... notice I said they all got up early and went out to breakfast, my sister getting those stupid mickey head shaped pancakes with tons of whipped cream...but not I...even at a young age I had a more upscale palatte (but looking back now...maybe I was just lazy lol) I preferred to stay in my warm bed...but when the smell of his pancakes wafted into my room...no matter what ungodly hour it was...I sat straight up in bed and smiled! I also knew I better get my lil butter ball butt in there before they were gone :) My sister is 7 years younger than me but let me tell you for someone as tiny as she was...that child could pack them pancakes away!!!
To say his pancakes were good...was an understatement...everyone loved them, when he took us camping as kids...we begged for them...when later in years my parents took all the grandkids camping without the adults...they begged for them and I would actually grumble when my kids came back and said "Pampa made pancakes!" Did I sound and act like a 2 yr old..yes and I don't care lol
He would make what seemed like hundreds of tiny lucious pancakes and we would literally devour them...but he would as a "surprise" make a bunch more and leave them on a pretty lil plate for later...just incase someone had a hankerin for a mid day snack...miday...heck I made excuses to walk into their kitchen and snatch one or two.. many times through out the day...plain..with nothing on them...they were even more delicious...they had such a light taste and just enough sweetness that to this day I haven't found anyone elses to compare...NOT EVEN CLOSE !
Everyone asked for his secret recipe...he response..."No secret...just follow the directions on the box, not too damn hard"...then he would smile....
It had been awhile since I had his pancakes...my tummy and my heart were craving them...He was in the hospital still processing the diagnosis they had given him, just like we all were. That morning for breakfast they bought everyone pancakes...but they came back to his room because they had made a mistake he was to have oatmeal...he didn't mind...he said he actually preferred it...he said "you can't mess up oatmeal but the pancakes looked and smelled like shit" (sorry but he didn't believe in mincing words :)
The morning after he shared his last wishes with us all...he was preparing to come home and trying to make him smile I said..."just think Sonny...you can eat all the pancakes you want when you get home....course you have to make them" ( I know selfish of me to say but...Hey he smiled!!) He was walking around on his own...although a lil tired..he still insisted on doing things on his own, joking...just happy he was finally coming home...Well we never got that chance...to have his special pancakes...He came home the next day on Sunday, early evening...and by Monday morning he couldn't really talk or walk much less stand...By that night you couldn't understand what he was saying...it was heartbreaking because when he spoke it sounded like he was drowning...By that next Sunday he was with us only in spirit and we were all hanging on to each other to survive and we were planning his funeral...
How sad that with everything going on that all too short week we had left with him...no one thought to make him pancakes...no one thought to get his recipe...no one will ever get to eat his melt in your mouth..soo good you wanna smack yo mama pancakes again.......
The holidays are quickly approaching...I think we are all quietly dreading it here, Thanksgiving was his favorite holiday because my mama made it all about him and all his favorite dishes...because you see, he made Christmas, all the other holidays and all our birthdays all about us...but sharing this memory and others like this with my mom, husband...my girls...my sister and her lil ones....I think helps us ease into the upcoming holiday season...
So you see...sometimes a picture isn't just worth a thousand words... sometimes it is worth much, much more...like one special, precious..albiet...delicious memory....Again, Mari thank you sooo much for reminding me of my beautiful memory...And helping me to smile once again when I think of him...
Until next time dear friends...
Rose~
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