A couple weeks ago, I was making my three year old lunch. His favorite
is peanut butter and jelly, which is easy enough. It was the time of week
when the pantry tends to be more empty than usual, as I needed to make
a trip to the grocery store. I now avoid taking all three children to the store
at any cost for good reason (as you will see in my next post).
I was spreading the peanut butter to perfection when I heard a small
gruff voice behind me, "Mommy, I hungry." SPLAT, SPLAT, SPLAT,
SPLAT! I turned and saw the last four eggs broken on the kitchen floor.
I wasn't that upset with my little man, the look of horror on his face
must have mirrored mine as he held a partially opened carton of eggs.
He knew it wasn't good. I reassured him all was well, but next time to
ask mommy for help.
Instantly my brain raced with ideas of how I could utilize what was left
of the eggs. I dislike wasting food. Pancakes! It hit me like a lightning
bolt (without the pain of electrocution). I swung open the pantry door to
find no pancake mix. Of course there wasn't any! I wondered if I could
make my own. Yes, after a quick Internet search, I found a basic recipe
that involved flour, baking soda, baking powder and sugar. Was that all
that pancake mix is? Why do I buy it in a box? I added some cinnamon
to the mix and some organic blueberries and strawberries I had in the
freezer (I cut the strawberries into small pieces). I spent the rest of the
afternoon frying up pancakes. It took a little while since I made a double
recipe. We enjoyed berry pancakes the next three mornings. My children
loved it (pancakes are usually reserved for Saturday mornings).
There are many times in life when things happen beyond our control,
from broken eggs to more serious matters. Instead of dwelling on
what's broken (which is what we all tend towards), let's figure out how to
use what we have to make something good. In this wild ride called life,
it's to our benefit to roll with the punches, and when life gives us broken
eggs... make pancakes!
