By Barb Arland-Fye
Editor
My husband Steve suggested celebrating Father’s Day at a popular pancake house and our sons were “all in.” I had reservations, but not for a table of four at the pancake house. The vision dancing in my head was of families spilling out from the restaurant and into the parking lot waiting for a table. Steve was optimistic and wanted to take the chance.
The pancake house parking lot was full when we arrived mid-morning on Father’s Day, so Steve cheerfully pulled into a nearby business parking lot, which seemed surprisingly full on a Sunday morning. I supposed, correctly, that the owners of these vehicles were prospective pancake house customers, like ourselves. Despite these concerning indications, Steve led us into the restaurant, assuring people waiting outside that we just wanted to check in with the hostess. She informed us the wait would be over an hour.
I suggested we eat at home and offered to make the pancakes. Steve, however, is the master cook and baker in our house and earned a reputation for making the best pancakes in the world. He made a counter-offer, “Let’s find another pancake house.” Our older son, Colin, remained all in for this adventure but our son, Patrick, who had to go to work that afternoon, agreed with my suggestion.
We passed another pancake house on the way home. Steve slowed down as we approached the restaurant but, not receiving any encouragement to stop, he drove on, setting an example for selflessness. Again, I offered to make the pancakes or at least to help him out but Steve, king of the kitchen, cheerfully declined. In less than an hour, he had prepared two different kinds of pancakes, eggs and sausage.
Patrick and I lavished praise on Steve for the delicious pancakes. Colin, whose autism sometimes leads him to be less than diplomatic, declined the pancakes. His favorite restaurant also serves pancakes, which he prefers to any other, even his dad’s! However, he enjoyed the eggs and sausage, which pleased Steve.
Father’s Day unfolded in a way Steve did not anticipate but he enjoyed it anyway. Serving others is ingrained in his DNA; it gives him great joy. He has been looking out for others since his youth, first as a son and brother and then as a husband, father, employee and volunteer.
In his homily of June 1, concluding the Jubilee of Families, Children, Grandparents and the Elderly, Pope Leo XIV said faith “is shared like food at the family table and like the love in our hearts. In this way, families become privileged places in which to encounter Jesus, who loves us and desires our good, always” (Catholic News Service, 6-1-25).
Steve shared his faith in the food he served, with love, at our kitchen table on Father’s Day. He sacrificed his desire for a pancake brunch prepared and served at a restaurant to accommodate our family’s needs. We enjoyed brunch at our “pancake house,” love blended with pancake batter.
(Contact Editor Barb Arland-Fye at arland-fye@davenportdiocese.org)
