NOT YOUR FAULT

Today is pancake day. My son helped me mix the batter for a version of pancakes which I based on my crepe recipe. This we let sit on the counter as we went downstairs to start the car which was buried under about 15 centimetres of snow. I let the engine warm up for ten minutes whilst my son played in the snow. I then left the car still buried under the snow, hoping that will be good enough to keep it going until the next time I needed to use it.

My son asked if we could go for a walk, seeing how it had been a while since our last walk. I suggested we go before breakfast, so we set off at that moment. It started out as a nice walk in the beautiful snow though we were unprepared with our clothing. It is rare for us to see snow in Texas which makes it unnecessary to buy snow gear.

As we walked out of the apartment complex onto our usual route, we noticed that the streets were not plowed or salted. They were covered with a fresh dusting of snow on top of the ice which formed overnight. Neither of us realised it would prove to be unwalkable.

My son ran over to the large patch of fluffy new snow and laid down in it. He made a snow angel and was happy to be outside. We had been staying indoors for days and it felt nice to be outside again. However, that did not last long.

As we reached the bend in the road, we noticed a pattern of beautiful wavy lines in the snow along with a trail of footprints left by squirrels leading to a nearby tree. This must be as much of a novelty to them as to us. Still we continued around the bend, intending to make our way around the school and back home to make our pancakes.

Once on the road which busses took to drop off children at the high school, we were careful to avoid the icy patches underneath. However, we were not careful enough. I was first to fall. Onto my left side. I heard a slight crack and hoped it was nothing serious. Then I saw my son slip on his backside. He was not hurt. I checked my pockets to see if my glasses were still intact. They were, as I had moved them to the right-hand pocket. My phone is what I landed on but that was not damaged. However, my arm was hurting and I decided it was time to go home.

‘I’m sorry I made you fall’, I heard my son tell me.

‘It’s not your fault’, I replied. But he somehow thought that it was his fault and kept apologising throughout the day.

It really is not your fault, my son. It happens sometimes, especially when we are not prepared for this unprecedented weather. We walked back across the street and stopped by the hammocks on the way back to our home.

Once home, my son changed and I showered before returning to the pancake batter. My recipe ended up making ten pancake crepes, two of which we gave to our neighbour. This time I filled them with lemon zest, caster sugar, and a squeeze of lemon juice. My son had two filled with Eurocrem, a brown and white hazelnut cream spread from Croatia.

The rest of the day included my making split pea soup and yogurt flatbreads whilst my son read two chapters of his fifth Alex Rider book. It wasn’t until later in the evening that I felt the pain in my left arm. It wasn’t broken but it had taken a beating from the fall.