Heartbreaks & Pancakes — “Finding Your People”
The door opened slower than usual.
Not slammed.
Not rushed.
Just… heavy.
I knew that kind of quiet.
“Hey… how was school?”
A shrug.
The kind that carries more than words ever could.
Shoes off.
Bag dropped.
Silence stretched across the room… until finally:
“They don’t really like me.”
Not loud.
Not angry.
Just honest.
And somehow, that makes it hit harder.
I didn’t rush in.
Didn’t say, “that’s not true”
I did not try to fix it.
Because sometimes…
kids don’t need answers
They need space.
So I sat beside her and said softly:
“That hurts, hey?”
She nodded.
Eyes down.
A little while later, the real truth came out.
The one sitting underneath everything.
“I think I’m just… different.”
And there it was.
Not the playground.
Not the other kids.
Just that quiet fear:
“Maybe I don’t belong.”
“ I wish I could take your sadness away”
I stood up.
Not to walk away…
but to shift the moment.
“Come help me make pancakes.”
She looked at me — confused.
But she came anyway.
“Dad’s Fix-Anything Pancakes”
“We don’t make these when things are perfect…
we make them when things feel a little broken.”
Ingredients:
• 2 cups flour
• 2 XL eggs
• ¼ cup sugar
• 2 Teaspoons baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla( optional)
• ¼ teaspoon bicarb( very important)
• syrup (the important part)
Steps:
1. Mix everything slowly — no rushing- literally just add everything together in a bowl
2. Stir until it’s a little messy (like feelings)- do not overmix, small lumps are alright
3. Cook on low heat — patience matters using a greased non stick pan
4. Flip when ready (not before)- wait until golden
5. Stack them high… because we all need a win
Flour on the counter.
Egg cracked too hard.
Milk spilling just a bit.
Nothing perfect.
Just us.
“Nothing like fun and mess to cheer one up”
I poured the batter.
Waited.
Watched.
Then flipped one too early — it folded in on itself.
“See that?” I said, smiling.
“If you rush it… it doesn’t work.”
She let out the smallest laugh.
Not much.
But enough.
I flipped another one. Slower this time.
Let it settle.
Then I said it, gently, like it wasn’t a lesson at all:
“Some things just take time.”
A pause.
“And some people… take time to find their people.”
She didn’t answer.
But she listened.
You can always tell.
I stacked the pancakes high.
Butter melting slowly.
Syrup running down the sides.
Warm. Steady. Simple.
I held the plate out to her.
“When everything feels too big…we start small.”
She took one.
Still a little sad.…but not carrying it alone anymore.
I leaned a bit closer and said:
“You don’t need everyone to like you.”
A pause.
“Just the right ones.”
She nodded.
And this time… she believed it a little more.
And as she took another bite, I said quietly:
“We can’t fix everything…
but we can make pancakes while we figure it out.”
Raising a daughter!
Raising a business!
Raising Hell when necessary!
