Food for thought.

One of the things I love about food, are the memories- mainly childhood ones, that are associated with it. I know I sound like one of the judges from 'Master Chef', but it's true.

For example, to this day, every time I eat a mango, I think back to when I was a little 5 year old girl living in El Salvador, and sitting under our huge mango tree. My mami would tell me that if I wished hard enough, one would fall from the tree for me. So there I would sit for ages, eyeing out a mango and wishing so hard that it would fall so I could eat it.  I did this for coconuts too. Come to think about it, mum was probably just trying to get me out of her hair, but I so badly believed it would work, and it's probably the reason I'm always trying to telepathically communicate with Joe... aaah, it all makes sense now.

Anyways, I had another flash back to my childhood today, and to a sweet memory while enjoying our pancake breakfast. It is a tradition around here that when Joe has a Saturday off, he makes us all pancakes for breakfast. I'm sure that this will be one of El's and Noah's fond food memories when they're older, as they love pancake Saturdays! Sometimes, like today, Joe cheats and takes us to MacDonald's for our pancakes. As we sat and ate our pancakes in the car, parked at the netball fields - another little tradition we have, I thought back to my first ever McDonalds pancake breakfast.

 I had McDonalds pancakes for breakfast, for the very first time when I was 10 years old (I know, late bloomer) while we were in Sydney- on our first temple visit as a family. As I was telling Joe this, I couldn't help but get teary as I began to recall that experience. Of course, at first Joe looked a little confused as he saw me tear up over ''pancakes." He probably was thinking I was sad because my parents had deprived me of a McDonalds breakfast for so long, so I quickly had to explain to him that I was teary because of the special  experience of my family's sealing.

 I remember it so well. How I felt, what a saw, and what I heard. I think that one of the best things about about being a convert to the gospel, is that I got to see and experience being sealed to my parents and siblings for time an all eternity. It is one of my fondest  childhood memories and one that I will treasure forever. So it was so nice to just randomly think back to it today- as I enjoyed a simple pancake breakfast, on a beautiful winter day, with my own little eternal family.