How can time pass so quickly? I happened across this short children’s story/poem today while browsing through my writing folder. Immediately, I was flooded with memories of a brown-haired, petite toddler begging to help me stir the cornbread mix every time I made it for dinner. The toddler days are long past for my little girl; now, she is mixing, rolling out, cutting out, and baking her own sugar cookies. Thankfully, these words that I wrote while she was snuggly and small evoke sensations of small hands holding mine, imprecise words and the sweet smell of little skin. Hint: Try reading it to your favorite toddler, preferably with them seated in your lap!
Clara considers her rumbly tummy as she peers into the pantry.
“Mommy, I want a leetle snack.”
Her mother rustles in the refrigerator, “Dinner is almost ready, C-bel.”
Crackers – no.
Cookies – no.
Cornbread!
“Mommy, I want to help. And I want to lick the bowl.”
Mix in the eggs, stir in the milk. Careful not to slosh the
Cornbread!
Collect muffin cups and carefully place them in the pan
Pour the batter in, set the pan in the oven, and wait for the
Cornbread!
Fifteen minutes pass and dinner begins.
Chicken, peas, potatoes, apple slices, and
Cornbread!
Munch, munch, chat, chat, crunch, crunch.
Mommy, Daddy, Clara, and brother
All loving each other and dinner and
Cornbread!
And as Clara crunches, she spies …CRUMBS! (Yum)
Copyright © 2019 by HC Morris
Heather C. Morris 