But to me, those pans are more than disposable convenience

I realized what the problem was. It wasn’t that the store didn’t have

regular round pans. It was that they didn’t have my regular round pans — the ones my mother used. There are some things from childhood that are hard to let go of. I never thought that round pans would be one of them. But to me, those pans are more than disposable convenience. They are a hardworking woman waking up early to prepare food for her family before leaving to work. They are love, my mother’s love. Part of me was still sitting in my mother’s kitchen contentedly scooping baked ziti out of round pans. The regular ones.

Shopping Trip Home

(Originally featured in Family First, Issue 747)