Ever since I can remember, there was Sunday breakfast.
Some of my earliest memories are from the small
Greek-American restaurant we faithfully visited every Sunday as a way for our
family to reconnect.
There was the time I was 9 and tried ketchup on my scrambled
eggs for the first time, mirroring the tastes of my stepfather. It turned into
an intense, if short-lived, obsession.
Or the time when I was 7 and my mother discovered I was
stealing coffee creamer and drinking the little cups in the bathroom.
Then there was the time I befriended a lovely elderly
couple, the Parkses, who looked forward to my visit to their table every week
so much that they gifted me with a quarter regularly.
After a decade, we branched out and began to try new
eateries, but the core mission was still in tact: keeping the family in touch,
regardless of how crazy life gets.
But a three-hour drive sort of puts the kibosh on my ability
to regularly attend Sunday breakfast with the family, and it saddens me that my
son will not be exposed to the same beloved tradition.
Then something amazing happened: My in-laws suddenly
proposed to start up a Sunday breakfast tradition of our own. For the past few
weekends, we have been getting together, taking turns to host at the three
households that comprise my West Michigan family, and make breakfast for all
seven of us.
It’s a new twist on my former habits, but it’s such a
welcome addition to our lives, and I know it’s nothing but a great thing for my
boy.
In a world where we all get caught up in hectic nature of work,
school, house projects, etc., it’s amazing when a group of this size can
coordinate some time to sit with one another, eat great food and talk about our
lives.
This is an ideal that often is promoted in television shows,
but something reality rarely lives up to. But, with a little bit of effort in
making some time for each other, my son has a great shot at having many of his
first memories much the same way I did — surrounded by people he loves,
sharing in his highs and lows — one week at a time.
— Sarah Leach is editor of The Holland Sentinel.
Contact her at (616) 546-4278 or sarah.leach@hollandsentinel.com.
