Growing up, my mother baked a lot of cakes. There were eight of us kids, plus a menagerie of assorted pets, and my dad, and we all had reasons to celebrate. Three cakes were regularly requested: 1) yellow sheet cake with either chocolate frosting (me), or with cherry topping (Dad), or 2) red velvet cake, which was oftentimes green, depending on whose request it was (Andy), or 3) Wacky Cake (Nathan).
And lest you think otherwise, all of the cakes and their various toppings were homemade, no mixes or cans were used in the making or the baking process. (Mom tried to switch it up on me a few years ago with my annual yellow cake with chocolate frosting, but hopefully she learned I cannot be bought with a cake mix birthday.)
Tonight, I baked Mom’s red velvet cake, complete with her frosting recipe, and I’m going to go ahead and claim victory on this baking project (which required three separate siftings of the dry ingredients, 15 minutes of batter mixing, and 10 minutes of icing mixing – thank goodness I had sous chefs helping me!), and relish in that fact, while expressing public gratitude for the countless cakes my mother baked – I’m guessing out of sheer love for her happy eaters, because boy, was that ever a lot of work!
The Other Three
- Exercise – done
- Meditate – done
- Kindness – done
- Sharing our pew with family
- Seeing old friends
- Cooking
- Meditating in the woods
- Hot water whenever I want it
- Baking a successful version of Mom’s Red Velvet Cake
Positive Experience
As soon as she arrived in “our pew” this morning, Claire came running to me, and jumped up for a big squeeze and a kiss, murmuring against my cheeks, “I missed you!” Sundays are always a delight to share with this sweet niece, whose Sunday service hour is wiled away on my lap, coloring, opening every app on any iDevice she can hold without detection, or having her legs, arms, back, or belly rubbed – and in just the right way or I will hear about it. Today, Claire learned how to operate the iPod camera, and took numerous shots of the ceiling, but I’m rather partial to this one.
Yup, it’s the simple pleasures we’re most grateful for:
a homemade cake (ok, well, not so simple)
someone who loves us wanting to cuddle.
Forget anything store bought or expensive. It’s the time with and from the ones we love that matters.
Today is my birthday and I made a list of what I want: time with the ones I love.
Happy Birthday to me and thank you, Lord, for my never ending Gratitude List.
How can I not comment when my beautiful daughter is mentioned! She is my happy thought, my end of the day smile, my cure for depressing days! She can light up a room with her boisterous giggles and she has so much love contained in her little body that she wants to share with everyone! It makes my heart happy to see her love so many and to be loved by so many in return!