Sunday Pancakes - Thinking of Leif

I've been cleaning up my office in preparation for a visit from my granddaughters, who "get" to sleep in there on the floor on an air mattress, and I keep finding more reminders of Leif, little things, a photo here and there, a computer trackball, the zippered case with software for the computer he built in about 2003. Sometimes finding those things brings a smile and some memory I hadn't thought of in a long time, sometimes they bring sadness that he's no longer here. It will always be that way, but I'm getting a lot better at looking at the wonder of having had him in my life for 33 years and not always turn to the sadness of losing him.

When the boys were still young enough to be living at home, we made pancakes on Sunday morning. Homemade ones, measured from scratch, and the boys enjoyed helping mix the batter. It was a Sunday tradition, kind of a ritual, that we all liked and looked forward to. You see, I started them young. :) This photo was taken in Charlottesville, Virginia when Leif was two years old. I loved those times together.

Jerri, Leif and Peter Anthony - Charlottesville, Virginia - April 1977 - Age 2

When our boys were kids, a Sunday tradition was homemade pancakes, from scratch. Once the boys were old enough to help, they loved being a part of the process and cooperated very well. This photo was taken in the kitchen of our townhouse in Charlottesville, Virginia. Leif was two years old and Peter Anthony was eight.

The Sunday morning fun was only one of the times the boys liked to help in the kitchen. Making cakes, pies and cookies from scratch were a other projects. I had such a good time with them, and I'll always remember them licking the bowls and spoons. Life seemed so easy then, so full of promise.

These days, people hardly remember black and white film, and I discovered that today's children don't understand black and white film at all. They think there was no color in the world in those days. We had color, plenty of it. At this time we were taking both B&W and color photos.

Leif - Hopping Up and Down in the Backpack

From the day he was born, Leif wanted to see everything. He closely observed and analyzed everything even as a baby.

I think he liked being held as much or more because he was in a position to see better as because of the closeness and affection. He would make his wishes known vociferously if he was put down and wanted to see something.

When he was old enough to sit up and they started coming up with the infant backpacks, I got this one. It was a godsend for both him and me, because he loved being up high there where he could see well and wasn't crying and clamoring for me to pick him up. However, Leif was always a big, heavy, muscular baby, and having him on my back for hours was quite a load.

He made it harder to manage by using the lower hip bar to hook his toes on so he could jump or jog up and down in the seat. Try that with a 20 pound load on your back. :)

I made many a meal with him there. Peter Anthony, and later both he and Leif, liked to help out in the kitchen occasionally, especially when I made homemade (from scratch) pancakes on Sundays. In this photo, Peter A. is helping with the pancakes and Leif is in the backpack. It was taken in May 1976 in the kitchen of the old stone house in Manhattan, Kansas.