I Bake Bread

I bake bread for my son. Not only is it enjoyable and therapeutic for me to bake but, it is truly symbolic. I bake bread to try and do anything and everything that I possibly can to give my child a boost physically to help him mentally and socially. Baking bread is a process of patience. You must separate the eggs slowly and gently with great ease so not to break the yokes. I wait for the egg white to gently slip through the utensil away from its mate the yoke. The yeast and warm water must be be stirred but then left alone to sit and foam on their own interaction with one another. I wait for the miniature pieces of yeast to dissolve away until unnoticed in the warm water creating a foam. Mixing the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients must be kindly attended to. I wait for the soft particles of flour to be absorbed into the dough. The dough, it rises. It rises with silence, as slowly as it can. I wait for it to reach the top of the pan and if I don't wait long enough I disturb its transformation. The baking. Ahhh, the sweet aroma that fills the house as the dough in the hot oven takes shape and forms into a loaf of bread. But, I wait as it takes its time to create something beautiful and sweet and delicious. I wait for it to be complete, it is not a fast process.

Symbolic you ask. Yes, symbolic to my child. He is beautiful and unique and God's special gift. He needs patience. He must be handled with great ease, gentleness and care just like the eggs whites and yokes. He must be given his time to formulate thoughts and ideas and put two things together just like the yeast and water. He must be talked to kindly with precise direction of how to go about his day just like the dough needs to be mixed kindly. He must be given time to work, grow, explore, think, see - become, just like the rising of the dough. And his transformation into an intelligent, kind, gentle, loving, giving, funny, joyful spirit is such a sweet aroma. He transforms. He is an amazing being and it is with such great joy that I get to watch him transform on a daily basis. And, he loves my "special" breads just for him.