Memories of Mama in a Cake

My mom has been gone for awhile now, and still I miss her. I miss her smile, her advice, and more importantly, her arms around me keeping me safe from the world.

I spent some alone time this morning thinking of her and then I got busy with my own children. You see, they decided they wanted to make my one of my favorite cakes. It's not a hard cake to make, but the Triple Decker Strawberry Cake is so very delightful in my tummy.

The kids measured, chopped and poured all the ingredients in to the mixer. They greased and floured the pans in which we were to cook the cake. I asked if they had done it right. After the eye rolling had stopped, I poured the batter in the pans for them and placed them in the oven.

Greedily they grabbed the mixing bowl and licked it clean. I don't think the dishwasher could have done a better job- although the dishwasher might have been more sanitary.

The cake came out of the oven, and then we couldn't get the cake out of the pans. Guess their handy dandy grease job wasn't so worthy of the eye rolls after all. The tears formed in their eyes, when I burst out laughing.

They are so like my mom. My mom slap out couldn't bake a cake. No matter how she tried, or measured or greased the pans, her cakes always fell apart. I grew up picking out toothpicks from her cakes.

She also used to tell the story about when she and my dad were stationed overseas in Germany. The NCO wives would have bake sales for the soldiers. One time, the wives needed another cake, so my mom volunteered to help. She tried her best and hers looked the worst. There her cake limply stood with all the gorgeous decorated sweet wonders. Hers sold first. She tried to talk the young soldier out of buying her cake. He told her he had to have it for it looked like one his mom would have made. From then on, her cakes proudly went on display and quickly sold at the bake sales.

My cake this morning brought my mom smack dab into the room with me. I felt her love surround me as I told my kids the story and turned their tears to smiles.

Yep, mama came to see me this Mother's Day- if only in a lopsided cake.

Happy Mother's Day.