Jaffle Magic

There are certain things that we remember from our youth. For me the afternoon jaffle sums it up quite nicely. Now a lot may ask what a jaffle is and as everyone is different so firstly I must explain what in my eyes this marvelous creation of a "jaffle" is.

Jaffle: Toasted bread sandwiches, two buttered slices of bread are placed on top of each other with a filling. This may include ham & cheese, baked beans, cheese and pineapple, your favorite heat able food/combinations of these. These buttered slices of bread and filling is placed in a "jaffle maker" heated plates with a pattern imprinted on them that makes two triangular portions. Note: a good jaffle maker regardless of bread/quantity or filling is able to crease the edges of the bread and make it air tight, preventing food articles from escaping and falling on clothes.

Ok now a post about a jaffle may seem weird/odd but a jaffle symbolizes much more that its visual appeal and mouth watering taste suggests. Jaffles formed apart of our youth. The food item that you craved each afternoon after primary school. The humble jaffle symbolizes the innocent freedom, thoughts, needs and the perfect day of my youth.

Looking back, life was simple. The world around was small, all I knew was my home, grandparents home, friends, the local supermarket. Cambodia and the world beyond was still a mystery, possibly not even a mystery as I didn't really comprehend that it existed only just being a dot on a map. Down the road even?

Getting back on track, the jaffle. In recent days my homes "jaffle maker" has been replaced, the old one died many years back and has sat as a monument in the cupboard to the old days. With the new jaffle maker the older routines have sprung back into existence. The afternoon jaffles are back and with it the memories that surround them. Recently while eating my jaffle I have been thinking, with thoughts like "Jeesh I am getting old", "I wonder how much I can fit on this thing", " shall I have four or just two", "do I have the right ingredients to make them", "is the ham off....", "who puts the bread in the freezer, WHY IS THERE NO BREAD AND EIGHT TUBS OF BUTTER" floating through my mind. So you can see that my mind has been well, filled with thought. Analyzing this collection of thoughts I realized that they are a good summary of what was once passing through my mind and that some of the hardest decisions of the day came from them. Questions like ham and cheese or baked beans, multi grain or white, two or four.

This was as complicated as my life was back in the past, and this humble and simple jaffle should be a reminder to all, as Monty python puts it "always look on the bright side of life". As we get older the world appears more complicated and we have realized how much we don't know. Sadly as we move on we fail to value the simple pleasures that we once filled our life with, be that be a jaffle, painting or just sitting on a dam wall looking out on the water (*my personal favorite*)

Yes, I feel as we all are getting older we are failing to see the jaffle side of things. The simple pleasures that we once took great happiness from are being lost in the huge sea of complexity and lack of knowledge is dragging us down into a state of unhappiness.

Take a turn back to your youth, pick up a hammer and build something, relax in a chair, look at a flower even and have some good olde fashioned fun.

With your friends and family close at hand its time to enjoy life like it once was, with a greater emphasis on the simple pleasures.

(*apologies in advance for the spelling and grammatical errors*)

Mitch

2 comments:

littel-philow-cat said...

LOL! You know, I went to mass once, and in the newsletter the priest had copied and pasted an article on how to better enjoy life like people used to -- to appreciate the little things like playing in the sand, hanging out with siblings and riding bicycles.

At the bottom, he said we should all go back to the good old days and "build a boat."

Religious implications aside (thank god), it was amusing.



Love the reference to Cambodia. Engg1000, anyone?

Queen Anne said...

I think I'd personally take the message to heart more if I wasn't stuck enjoying simple things. Anyone see me with Milk or around 11:11... [Yes that is a capital M for milk]

Dear "Jarielle" keeps things in perspective for me.