10/05/2026
My journey into the world of sourdough and jam-making began shortly after I became a mother myself. Baking had always been a part of my life. My own mother introduced me to it before I was even tall enough to see over the kitchen counter. Some of my favorite memories are of us side by side, mixing, kneading, and baking together. Her banana bread became a staple in our home, and after making it so many times over the years, I now know the recipe by heart.
Just four and a half months after I became a mother, my mother was taken from us far too soon by cancer. I was learning how to navigate motherhood while grieving the loss of the person who had taught me so much about love, care, and home. It was one of the hardest seasons of my life.
During that time, I found comfort in baking bread and making jam. Kneading dough and preserving fruit became a way to calm my mind, heal my heart, and keep a piece of my mother close to me. In many ways, I still feel her beside me in the kitchen, especially when I'm spending time cooking and baking with my daughter.
I miss my mom every single day, but I see so much of her in my daughter. I see her in myself, too. In the way I mother, in the little phrases I catch myself saying that she used to say to my brother and me when we were children. She is always with me.
To every mother reading this: you are the glue that holds the world together. Your love, strength, and care shape generations in ways both seen and unseen. I see you.
Happy Mother’s Day.
