My first attempt at Belgian waffles produced great waffles and a MASSIVE mess. I used a recipe by Alton Brown because – if I had to be honest – he makes me smile. Everything was mixed and setting up and the recipe said to pour into the waffle maker according to the directions.

I had no directions for the waffle maker. My father-in-law had purchased it and I borrowed it while he was out running errands. I decided to go with the same idea I used with my sandwich maker. The result was a mess. To quote my loving and supporting children, “Mom, you made the waffle maker bleed.”

It was true. Batter was oozing all over the maker and onto the counter top. My family said the waffles tasted great, but I spent over an hour trying to clean the waffle maker.

Just because it worked before does not mean it is designed to work now. My whole life would have gone a little smoother if I had learned this lesson earlier and then hung on to the concept consistently. Instead, I find that many of my days end up with me “making the waffle maker bleed.” I need to stop long enough to find the directions for that moment and then be willing to follow those specific directions instead of demanding my own path.

Steps for Stepping Back

1. Ask more questions. My son that brought up the waffle maker knew exactly where the directions were and would have gone and gotten them had I stopped to ask. Even if there were no directions I could have looked them up on the same internet where I printed out the recipe for the waffles in the first place.

2. Invest more time to save time. I could have slowed down long enough to check things out but determined to push on in MY direction instead. The result was a mess that cost me more time than I would have had to invest initially.

3. Seek out those with more experience than yourself – and then LISTEN! My children had watched their grandpa make waffles several times. I never even thought about taking the time to ask their opinion on how much to put into the maker. My own experience had to be more than their limited years could possibly know.

4. Admit your flaws. Few moms want to stand in front of their children and admit their lack of knowledge. That morning I was determined to appear like I knew what I was doing. My façade worked beautifully until the waffle maker started oozing batter. My flaws revealed themselves which made me look even more flawed in the long run.

No two days will be the same in my life, just like no two tools will work the same in my kitchen. There may be similarities, but different batters or cooking elements can leave me with a perfect waffle or oozing mess.

It takes a small investment of time and energy to step back and review the situation. A deep breath, a few questions, and an honest approach will help me avoid facing that bleeding waffle scenario in the future.