A Mother's Wisdom SOL 2013: 21 of 31

For the month of March we are challenging ourselves to write a slice of life every day. 

Slice of Life is sponsored every Tuesday by Stacey and Ruth from Two Writing Teachers.  

Today's pancake post was inspired by Amy's pancake poem.  When I'm stumped for a writing topic,  I turn to the posts of fellow slicers.  I can always find something to spur my thinking or provide a connection.  I think there's a lot of pancake desire floating around our community this morning.  Amy's words and the accompanying picture sent me back twenty plus years to my mom's kitchen.  

I can still see her, apron tied around her middle, standing at the black griddle making pancakes for my two young children.  These weren't ordinary pancakes, and this was no ordinary ritual.  We lived eight hours away from my mom so a visit to Grandma's house was a cherished experience.

As my mom slid another perfect "turtle" pancake onto Blake's plate, he uttered words that chilled my mother's heart, "Grandma, can you teach Mom how to make turtle pancakes?"

No, I thought, not one more expectation to add to my crazy young mother's life.  I loved these early years of mothering, but couldn't for the life of me figure out how my mom accomplished so much with such ease.

Without even skipping a beat, my mom turned to Blake and replied, "No, honey, only Grandmas can make turtle pancakes."

And with those words, my mom saved me!  I never had to add "making turtle pancakes" to my list of skills to acquire.  However, with retirement beckoning and graduations in 2013 for my two married children (and maybe some grandchildren in a few years), perhaps it's time for me to acquire some turtle pancake skills!