Peanut Butter & Honey

When I was a kid, my family moved frequently due to my stepdad's job.  By the time I graduated high school, I had gone to a dozen schools in half a dozen states.  It always seemed like I was  constantly the New Kid with the weird name.....and the strange sandwiches.

My mother always, always, always made homemade bread every week.  We never had "boughten bread" except in extreme circumstances (like when the power hadn't been cut on yet or when everyone had the flu at the same time).  So my school sandwiches were always made with my mother's exceptional bread.  It was bigger than store bread, thicker than store bread, and, unlike store bread, left lots of crumbs.  That bread was always the source of comment from other kids.  The insides of my sandwiches usually weren't so very different--cheese or peanut butter or egg salad--but the bread was unusual.  I wasn't embarrassed but I also didn't care for having yet one more reason to be the subject of interest.

Back then, I didn't really understand why my mother made bread.  But now I do.  Breadmaking was a constant in a changing world--something you could depend on, something that would make anywhere seem like home.  Homemade bread was more nutritious and less expensive.  It made sense in so many ways.

Even though I'm on my own now, I still make bread.  I made bread only a couple of weeks ago but my low food budget has made it necessary to eat the bread at a faster rate than I'd intended--it's a great source of protein after all (wheat + dairy + eggs = perfect protein combination) since I don't eat meat.  Soon it will be time to make bread again.  It's thoroughly worthwhile.  And it tastes like home.

This morning while I was going over all the stuff that I need to accomplish, I felt a bit overwhelmed so I decided to have breakfast before I thought further.  There is no oatmeal in the pantry just now, and I didn't feel like making grits for the sixth day in a row.  I wanted something else.....I wanted a sandwich. 

Just like my mother used to do for my school lunches, I assembled the sandwich on a paper towel and then wrapped it round the outside to contain the crumbs.  And just like my mother used to do, I mixed up peanut butter with a generous amount of honey to slather over the thick slices of good wholesome homemade bread.  The other kids at school had peanut butter with jelly but I was very glad of the difference when it came to peanut butter with honey.  

Peanut butter with honey on homemade bread.  So good.  So satisfying.  My long list of things to do hasn't changed but I feel more ready to face the day. 

Life is good.