When my kids were little, a new Bruegger’s Bagel shop opened near our house.  It soon became a ritual for me to take my kids there for breakfast once a week before school.  At first I’d take Erik, our youngest, to Brueggers after dropping off the others at the bus stop on my day off.  How well I remember the day we discovered his brother’s lunch box still in the car, and made a mad dash to the next bus stop to deliver it to him!

As time went on and school schedules changed, the other kids were able to join us.  Even when I went back to work full-time, we still managed to get to Brueggers.  I loved our special time together in the early morning, over a simple breakfast of bagels and cream cheese.  The staff knew us, and I invested in a Brueggers mug to get “refill” discounts on my coffee.  We were regulars.

High school was a challenge for Karen and Carl, with a 7:30 start time.  I’ll admit that they fell off during those years.  What high schooler wanted to get up earlier than that?  But Erik persisted – he wisely chose a different high school with a later start.  So we kept up the tradition.  College clearly intervened for all of them, but during breaks we’d still head off to Brueggers.

Erik is now working his first job, living in our Twin Cities townhouse.  When we’re there, he is still willing to get up extra early periodically to have bagels with his mom.  I feel so very honored!  These days the staff do a double-take when they see my mug.  It’s clearly vintage by now.  But I’m proud of it and my tradition.

And on to the new generation.  My grandson, Ben, is old enough for bagels now, so when we spend days together while his mom and dad are at work, guess where we head first?  He too loves his Brueggers Mornings.