Pancakes, Frosted Cakes, and I Love Yous

I woke up to the sound of the puppy whimpering at my bedroom door. She’d spent the night in Paul’s room but she’s well aware that I’m Mom, the one who will hear her when she’s ready to go outside come morning. I rolled out of bed, opened my door to her wagging tail and we both went downstairs. Opening the door, she ran outside. I promptly went back to bed. I didn’t stay long. I got the feeling I ought to make pancakes or waffles for breakfast. Finding my son awake in his room, I asked him what he’d prefer.

“Pancakes”.

“Chocolate chip?”

“Yes. Thanks, Mom”.

Everyone was awake by the time I had them on the griddle.

“What kind do you want, Syd?”

“Blueberry please”.

“I somehow knew you were going to make pancakes this morning”, Emma said. “I always know when you’re going to make us pancakes”.

I’m not sure what gives it away. I wasn’t even humming this morning. But those pancakes brought me many warm hugs and several impromptu, “I love you”s, so whether or not there’s some sort of signal I send out when I’m about to treat my family to a warm breakfast in the morning, I was happy to do it.

After breakfast, we all settled in to our day. After taking a little time to do a few chores, my husband and I took off to go see a movie together. We went out shopping afterward and arrived home late afternoon. When I came into the kitchen there was Emma. She’d made a double layer cake and was about to make frosting. Hearing that Paul was hungry, I took a quick look in the fridge and spotting some leftover cooked chicken, I decided I’d make two dishes in hopes there would be leftovers for Sydney when she got home from her day with friends. Within a half hour, a chicken tetrazzini casserole and chicken-pepper-spanish rice wraps were prepared and heating up in the oven.

There came a moment however, when Emma and I were working side by side in the kitchen that I stopped and smiled. There was my daughter singing happily, sitting on a kitchen stool, and frosting her two layer cake. The song she was singing along to was one I hadn’t heard, but it spoke of love, of building a life together, and of sharing moments with a future family.

These are the moments I once dreamed of when I was younger...of waking up to a household full of love, full of song, full of warmth. Tails wagging, pancakes on the griddle, impromptu movie dates, frosted cakes, songs being sung, dinners being prepared, being the Mom...and lots of hugs and “I love you”s.

It’s true what they say. Dreams do come true.