Breads and Bonds

" Love doesn't sit there like a stone, it has to be made, like bread: remade all the time, made new." - Og Mandino

Who doesn't love bread? I am a fan, all kinds of  bread which I have grown up with, from the humble hopia to spanish breads, pan de coco and ensaymada. I can't imagine a home who doesn't serve pan de sal or tasty every morning or during meriendas. When I have learned that Tato's field trip would be at the Gardenia Plant, I knew he would be curious to see how breads are processed mechanically. Indeed the kids were amazed to see how the flour and other ingredients were mixed and turned into doughs, all neatly lined up and baked in line until they were formed into a tower of white loaves. The plant was clean and the aroma of freshly baked breads was overwhelming that after the plant visit, the kids and their parents had their own bags of freshly baked breads.

Tato and I took a few shots in the Gardenia Plant's outdoor area. A mother and son bond which I would always love to nourish.

Today is World Bread Day and I agree, though man should not leave by bread alone, I am amazed how a simple bread can communicate a thousand word from the farmer who harvested the wheat to make flour, to the baker who have devotedly made what is serve in our platter. I have nothing against mechanically produced breads, in fact I love Gardenia as it is true to its word, "Masarap Kahit Walang Palaman" but there is something special in hand-made breads that would always make me go back to my local panaderia. 

Just like relationships, whether with spouse,children or in-laws and even parents or siblings, it has to be nourished and handled with much dedication such as those of the bakers or as a bread, it might be as hard and complicated as a rock or a soft and palatable one, melting in your heart and nourishing the soul.