The breakfast rule, or, when does brunch begin?

Recently a friend was trying to convince me that it was ok to have breakfast and brunch in the same day. I thought this was rubbish, as my understanding of brunch was a mash up of breakfast and lunch for those days when you sleep until is too late for the former, but too early for the latter. I argued this point to no avail until she left the breakfast table at my house to meet friends for an alledged brunch, which I maintain was actually a morning tea. If only I had been less distracted by my cup of tea and had thought to bring the dictionary to the party. According to the Australian version of the Collins English Dictionary (kindly gifted to the boy and I as a wedding present), brunch is a noun describing a meal eaten late in the morning, combining breakfast with lunch, and morning tea is the Australian equivalent of elvenses, comprised of a mid-morning snack with a cuppa. So, to the double dippers among you, I wave my dictionary in victory!

I know it's not earth shatteringly important, but I do enjoy being right almost as much as I enjoy a good breakfast.


I had an especially good breakfast this morning, after spending a little time in the garden. I watered and weeded and trimmed some of the more unruly plants. I finally got to eat one of my strawberries before the birds noticed that it was ripe, and I picked three more cucumbers off one of our very productive little plants.


By this point it was already a sunny and clear day, so I thought I might stop for a breakfast of zucchini chutney, gouda cheese and freshly picked cucumber on toast. I sat on the back deck and looked out at our little slice of urban jungle with the satisfaction of knowing that this is only the begining. Leigh and I will have our lives to grow and craft the garden, the home, the lifestyle that we dream of.


While we planned our wedding we had to take a long hard look at our values because we realised that every decision we were making was symbolic. We didn't just sign up to be together, but to be part of our community. This means that we have to garden, and cook good, healthy food, and have parties, and make experiences worth having because we promised each other that we would actively build the world that we want to live in. If the wedding day represents the ideal life, then every day after that is about building it together.


This year's resolution is simply to do things. To do them with thought, and care, and grace, but still to stop making excuses and get on with the doing. Doing, however, cannot happen on an empty stomach, so always, always breakfast first.