Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Breaking Bread Alone

Rolling out of bed, I am careful to not move the bed in any way to disturb my sleeping husband who wakes at the slightest provocation.  I tiptoe past the doors to my daughters' rooms, climbing over the gate at the top of the stairs.  The click of it opening could possibly alert my daughters to the beginning of a new day and I am not yet ready to give up the silence that has settled on our home in the night.

No coffee, just a cup of  OJ in a glass accompanied by a bowl of cheerios with sliced strawberries floating in chilled milk.  Maybe today, I will be really wild and will have a blueberry muffin.  A newspaper opened to the Lifestyle section (click here to read An Ode to the Lifestyle Section) or the latest magazine that I pulled from our mailbox the day before ready to be dog-eared and thumbed through and most of all read. 

My to-do-list lays ready for the touch of my pen on the island.  I enjoy this time of day.  The day is a blank slate.  In this time, I can contemplate what I want to accomplish and the direction of my day.

Before I become a "mom" and "wife" again, I am only "me" for this brief interlude as I break bread alone.  My wants, my needs, simple as they may be, met so simply with food, the written word, and quiet (a rare commodity in a noisy household of four).  This morning routine is energizing to my mind, body, and spirit as the day begins.

Join me as I attempt to bake soda bread (Angelica Huston's recipe that has been passed to her family from their cook) in honor of St. Patrick's Day today.  This recipe printed on the Chicago Tribune website is slightly different from the original recipe on The One for the Table website.

Later today I will be posting a giveaway (breakfast related, of course).  Stay tuned.

Updated: Remember how I said I would attempt to bake soda bread. It didn't turn out quite the way it looked in the picture.  I probably shouldn't have substituted the whole milk for buttermilk even though the recipe said it was okay as long as you swapped baking powder for the baking soda. Oh well, we had fun trying to make it. 

10 comments:

Jaime said...

You sound like me in my house, Quietly tip toed down the steps and past the toddlers room for a little alone time. I hate the time change, but now he sleeps in till 7:30 not 6:30! And now the break is over as he just dumped a box of corn pops on the floor. I look forward to reading about soda bread after I clean up the mess.

parenting ad absurdum said...

Your description and picture come across as so peaceful - especially after I've just fed two small boys chocolate chip pancakes that somehow ended up all over the kitchen! Now I'm going to get my moment of peace (maybe) and have a shower...

Peryl

Daisygirl said...

That was the most peaceful, relaxing, and best thing I have read today! I know that if I had a few minutes of quiet alone time in the morning how much nicer my day would be...but it never happens because my children are up before the sun which means I would have to get up around midnight...haha...nope!

Happy St Patrick's Day!

Confessions From A Work-At-Home Mom said...

Sigh... I'm more relaxed now than I was before I read that! I've actually started getting up a little earlier to enjoy some "me" time, and it's becoming one of my favorite times of the day!

Thanks for hte book recommendation-- I've also read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, so I think we have similar tastes!

Make sure you email me the details for your giveaway, so I can add it to http://ourmommyhood.com!

~Elizabeth
Confessions From A Working Mom

Anonymous said...

I love those few precious moments I get to be just "me"...I feel like they're stolen but appreciate the luxury nonetheless (or maybe because of it?)

I want to thank you for commenting. I appreciate hearing your opinion, at any time, but especially on an important issue. Thanks!

Lourie said...

I need to do this...like maybe go to bed earlier so I can sneak in some quality me time, that I never seem to have enough of! And I am so checking out the bread recipe! Love bread!!

Buckeroomama said...

That sounds so peaceful... Unfortunately for us, the kiddies are the early birds in the house and they pile on to our bed as soon as they wake up. So much for peaceful, but it is nice waking up to the sleepy smell of the kiddos and I love the snuggling in before we all finally roll out of bed. :)

Joy@TPMG said...

My daughter started getting up at 6 about 2 days before the time change so now she is back on track in the morning but she has been refusing to go to bed. We put her to bed at 7 and we moved it back to 7:30 but she hasn't been falling asleep until 9:00. Those early mornings are rough and I used to be a morning person but not anymore.

MrsBlogAlot said...

Those quiet mornings are a rare thing aren't they? I know I need it in order to be ready for the day. I'll get up at 5:00 am just to get some (-:

hypermom said...

Wonderfully written! :) I am not a morning person at all but I can so relate to the quiet time concept. Mine is late at night :)

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