Monday, June 11, 2007

Ever ruined your daughter's birthday cake?

I'm just not the best at this stuff. Sometimes I feel like such a schlep at all things domestic.

Actually, I often do fairly well on cakes; sometimes I even make a really pretty one.

But this one was a disaster from start to finish -- falling apart, a crater running through the top layer, one layer sliding off the other, frosting that wouldn't hold its shape ....

Sigh.

I know my Betsy, though. She won't care. She'll see the love that went into the baking and despite the failed decorating she'll say, "That's okay, Mommy. It will still taste good!" And she'll be right. It won't be perfect, but it will still taste good.

And yet, I wanted it to be perfect for her.

Sort of like the way I want the world to be for my children. I can't always stop that from slipping and sliding out of place, either, and maybe that's the lesson here.

"You did your best, didn't you?" Atticus asked sweetly, as I teared up looking at the awful result of my labor.

"Ye-e-e-s," I whined. "But it still didn't come out right!"

Yes. It's true.

Sometimes, we do our best and things still fall apart.

But, a mother's love, a husband's sweetness, and a little girl who can see beyond outward trappings ... those things go a long way toward putting the pieces back together.

And, because it's chocolate, it will still taste good.

And, of course, I get the best present of all: Betsy the Best.

5 comments:

Crimson Wife said...

{{{hugs}}} I can definitely relate to this story- the very first cake I tried to bake from scratch rather than a mix was for my DH's birthday. He referred to it as the "poop" cake because it didn't quite turn out the way the picture in the magazine did, LOL! Fortunately, it tasted delicious even if it had a somewhat less-than-appetizing appearance ;-)

Happy birthday to your Betsy! I hope she has a wonderful day :-)

Jenn said...

Happy Birthday Betsy! If it makes you feel any better, I am OK with the domestic stuff but feel like a complete idiot even commenting on your site because you are so far above me intellectually. And truly, I actually mispelled 'idiot' the first time around.

Kristen Laurence said...

Over the years I've learned to appreciate the failed or broken attempts even more than the successes. The "less than perfect" has the beauty of humility and love, rather than show and pride.

Happy birthday to your sweet Betsy!

Karen Edmisten said...

Thanks for your hugs and support! Yes, Kristen, the failure was loved for its flaws. Crimson Wife, this one didn't earn quite the same nickname, but is now known as the earthquake cake. :-)

And, Jennifer, just stop that right now! You know I love you and your blog and I love hearing from you and have lately been feeling comment-deprived. Please leave every comment you can think of. :-)

Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle said...

What a sweet story. Happy Birthday to Betsy!

Love, Donna