Hi Friends!!
There are so many ways to describe a Mother's impact on a life. Mothers are the first person we feel a connection to. They are the one we try an emulate when we ourselves get older. I know the impact my mom has had on my life is immeasurable. The reason I volunteered at Pancake Peeps to begin with was because of my mom. The reason I have been so passionate about our vision since taking it over is because of the example my mom has given me. So when she wanted to celebrate all the mom's at the Alpha Project tent of course I agreed!
We decided to make Mexican food and make flower bouquets because, well, flowers are beautiful and (other than Pancakes) Mexican food is right up our alley. The prep for the event wasn't as hard as I expected it to be (although my mom might say otherwise!!)
A few things about the event: When we arrived there were tables and chairs set up for everyone to eat together family style. We usually have tables set up, but not enough for everyone, so that evening when they made sure everyone had a seat it made the event feel extra special. As we set up everyone was so excited! We had so many people offer to help us set up and upload our cars and the line was already REALLY LONG.
They start dinner every day at 5pm sharp so when we were ready I got to introduce my family and pray for the food, and then we were off! I thought we would be serve for about an our and a half.... HA! Let's try 3 hours! That line WOULD. NOT. END! And my mom refused to stop serving until everyone was satisfied. We were told to be prepared to feed about 360 hungry bellies, but we ended up serving about 600 meals! It was unreal. I was so inspired by my mom's determination to feed everyone. The Alpha project even tried telling us we could go home because at one point we were just serving seconds and thirds, but my mom refused. She said "There is a reason they are getting back in line. We won't leave until everyone is full".
After we finished around 8pm we were physically exhausted, but mentally and spiritually filled SO MUCH. I felt as full as the people we fed! The faint sound of chatter filled the air as we packed everything back up and prayed together before we left. Mamma Bear ran up to us and sobbed and she told us how much it meant to her that we spent Mother's Day with them. Woman after woman followed suit to thank us and my mom. Let me tell you, it was a special way to end the day.
I do not need any reminders of this, but every time we find a new way to celebrate our friends I am re-reminded of the real life change that is happening at that tent. It is crazy how much we take relationships for granted. A simple conversation goes a long way. My goal for this upcoming summer is to slow down and take more time to talk to people. I want to take a cue from my mom and go the extra mile, even if it means spending more time than I thought doing something for someone else.
Sawubona,
Mary Grabowski
