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Where to start… Where to start… Where to start… Oh yes I know! My earliest memory is at age 5. My dad woke me up just before sunrise to teach me how to make breakfast. I remember it was dark as he picked me up from my bed. I also remember knowing that it was my father who had picked me up before I opened my eyes as he always held me in such a way as to be able to avoid direct eye contact with me and always muttered under his breath "Moj jedinstveni mali djecace kakva cuda svemir sprema za osobu s ocima poput tvojih". 

 "Wake up Vjesnik. We're going to make breakfast", my father said to me as he carried me from my room. He sat me on the counter next to the kitchen stove and told me we were going to be making pancakes, sausage, biscuits, eggs, gravy and toast. As the sun began to peak its first rays above the horizon, my dad showed me how to turn on the stove and where the skillet and other dishes was kept that was required to make breakfast. Then he showed me which ingredients where needed from the fridge. Then he walked me through the mixing of the pancakes followed by the prepping of the rest of the food.

 I watched out the kitchen window as the top of the sun became visible on the horizon and its first rays hit the kitchen stove. The beam of light reflected back off the stove's surface and into my face causing me to rub my eyes at the sudden bright light. My sudden movement caused my father to look at me and as I lowered my hands I caught his eye briefly and saw him repress a shudder before turning quickly back to the food.

 "What's wrong dad?" I remembered asking. It took him a few minutes to reply…

 "Now pay attention Vjesnik. If you want consistent size with your pancakes, use a measuring cup to scoop out your batter into the skillet. Crack the eggs into a cup. Add a little bit of whole milk. Cinnamon and brown sugar. Dash of other seasonings. Mix well and poor into the egg pan." As the sun continued to rise in the sky, my first lesson in cooking continued by my father, the moment he shuddered all but forgotten. Breakfast was finished and ate in time for my first day of school and the ride was made in silence.