I dragged myself out of bed early Saturday morning. As I trudged downstairs I could hear my sister and her friend M- talking over their breakfast. They both had exams scheduled for the morning, and had to drive out to the school bright and early. I had to be up for a basketball game; our team's first game of the weekend long tournament would be at nine. It had been a while since our last game, and as I searched through the kitchen cupboards for something to eat, my stomach was clouded with butterflies. I didn't feel hungry, but I choked down a handful of dry cereal anyway so I wouldn't be playing on an empty stomach.
After digging through a mountain of laundry to find my jersey and packing up my bag, I sat down with M- and my sister at the dining room table. We read through the paper and laughed at the "Dear Annie" column, and they told me about their plans after the tests. As it was approaching time for them to leave, my mom came downstairs looking tired and still in her pajamas. She looked surprised to see me up, and told me she had left a note on my bedside table that I had missed; as it turned out our first game wouldn't be until later that afternoon. My mom wished them both luck before heading back up to bed. M- and my sister drove off for exams, my parents were still sleeping, and the house was quiet....Suddenly having plenty of time, my stress and nerves melted away. For the first time that morning I heard the birds singing, and the sun felt warm against my skin. I opened up Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and began to read. But I was soon interrupted by an empty stomach. The butterflies gone, I was hungry for a real breakfast. I set down the book and went back into the kitchen. My first thought was pancakes. Banana pancakes. But, bananas never last long in our house, and our fruit bowl was empty.
Opening the fridge a leftover carton of buttermilk caught my eye. I've always loved buttermilk pancakes; their light fluffy texture and sweetness, and a name that just rolls off the tongue... and forget bananas, blueberry buttermilk pancakes would be delicious!
