Being home for break is great, but there is something very special about Sunday mornings. I look forward to them all week and even think about them when I am at school. It isn't that I sleep in or stay in my pajamas all day. It's actually quite the contrary. Every Sunday my family gets up early to attend 8 a.m. mass at St. Francis De Sales Church and then goes to brunch at Cracker Barrel.
I have a 17-month-old brother named Jack. Jack is like the Energizer Bunny and runs on zero sleep. So when our church started offering an earlier alternative to the 10 a.m. mass, we thought it would be worth our while since we were already awake with Jack.
I love the 8 a.m. service. It is a smaller group with a more intimate feel than the 500 people who attend at 10 a.m. My best friend comes with us, and when we aren’t getting in trouble for talking, I feel more at peace knowing the people I love are with me. Plus, the church members are understanding; my brother thinks that anytime there is silence in mass is his signal to make noise. He doesn’t cry, just blubbers loudly. I think it’s his own special way of praying.
After church, I get in my best friend’s car and we “race” my parents to Cracker Barrel. I call it a race, but we always win and have enough time to peruse the general store. The car ride with my best friend is a chance to catch up in case I haven’t seen her in a while. It can be hard going to colleges in different states, but we know just like Sunday breakfast that our friendship is a constant.
You may wonder why Cracker Barrel has become our breakfast tradition. Last year, I would have wondered the same thing. I don’t really like super heavy food, but I have to say their breakfast has made me change my tune.
Tradition, if you haven’t realized, is rather important to me. My mom makes a breakfast dish that we call “Toad in the Holes.” It is basically a piece of toast with an egg fried in the middle. It has become my good luck meal. She made it for me before all my AP tests and the ACT.
Well, Cracker Barrel makes it but calls it “Eggs in a Basket.” Even though it isn’t as great as mom’s, it is pretty close. Going out for breakfast also means my mom gets a break, and she and my best friend can enjoy Cracker Barrel’s stuffed French toast. The service is great and we always know what we want.
It isn’t about the time of day that we are going to church or what I am getting for breakfast. The point I am trying to make is that in 30 years, I will remember the laughter and love that my family and friends have given me to associate with Sunday mornings.
