Feeling Like Anne

Anne Shirley: Can't you even imagine you're in the depths of despair?  

 It seems only Anne Shirley can appreciate what the Eades family is experiencing right now.  For over fourteen years we have had a Saturday tradition.  Pretty much the entire community knows about our weekly outing; and if anyone ever wants to find us, they know exactly where we can be located: eating muffins, bacon and cheese biscuits and drinking some of the best sweet tea ever to grace our lips. Yes...you know what I'm talking about...Saturday morning breakfast at Sweet Mama's.

It started off innocently...long before Hannah was born.  Patrick took us one Saturday to give me, probably pregnant and exhausted, a break on Saturday morning.  Back in those days, pork pops (the food of the gods) were a quarter, muffins about a dollar and a five dollar bill nearly covered breakfast for four.  How could we not keep going back?  It gave Mom a day of rest and Patrick some bacon.   


Hannah was born and---I'm not making this up---breakfast at Sweet Mama's was her first outing.  It's true.  My other kids first outing was to church, but Hannah's was our Saturday morning tradition.


Then we started homeschooling the kids, and it seemed even more imperative that Mom get a break on Saturday morning.  Occasionally people would act shocked that we ate out every Saturday, without fail.  I think Patrick has always considered it an investment in our family, knowing life just runs more smoothly when Mom is sane.

Several years went by before I knew this Saturday morning trip to Sweet Mama's was serious business, not to be tampered with.  One week when the kids were quite small and Patrick was out of town, I just couldn't bring myself to drag all four kids (Victoria was probably a baby) out for breakfast by myself.  Just seemed easier to stay at home and feed them cold cereal or something.  But all I heard, all day long was "it just doesn't seem like Saturday.  What day is it?  It doesn't FEEL like a Saturday".  All that whining just because they didn't get their weekly dose of pork pops.

As the kids kids grew up, their palates expanded and bacon and cheese biscuits became the order of the day.  And sticky buns.  And cheese danishes.  But don't forget the honey-nut bran muffin for Mom.  Or a doughnut with sprinkles. Or maybe some sausage gravy over biscuits.  Or a Wainright (a piece of sausage and a pickle between a pork pop that's been cut in half).  Or, our most recent discovery...sausage gravy over pork pops.  Now were talking!

I'm really not kidding about this...Sweet Mama's is ingrained in the Eades' culture, and I'm not sure sure what we're going to do come Saturday morning.   You see...they closed their doors a few days ago.  Suddenly...rudely.  It's just gone.  

Sweet Mama's was the St. Simons version of Cheers, where everybody knows your name.  Not only did they know our name...they knew our order before we even gave it.  They'd start preparing our drinks (decaf with 2% for me) before we even placed our order.  But no more...sadly our tradition has come to an end.  I suppose we'll visit other restaurants and maybe they will let us linger and read the Saturday paper over one more drink refill, but nothing will ever take the place of Sweet Mama's.

So...we're left feeling like Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables.   In regard to our Saturday tradition, 

This is the most tragical thing that has ever happened to me.

--Anne of Green Gables