You Can Have Your Cake and Eat it TWO. A Note From Jan.

Basil’s five! Turned 5 yesterday. He dressed eagerly for ABC preschool this morning but only after we’d spent about an hour working on “problems” from his math book. Finally, I can do math with one of my grandkids. Bring it on! This workbook, a birthday gift from his young friend Moira, teaches math to 5-6 year olds using Star Wars characters. Example: “Circle each Chewbacca you see in this picture.” Yes, there are 3! “Now, let’s practice writing the number 3.” Had forgotten how easy it is to reverse a 3 or a 5.

Love celebrating birthdays family style. Matt and Heather aren’t into big birthday bashes for kids. Expensive extravaganzas. Heard of some party favors that amount to small wedding gifts! Way to put the emphasis on the wrong syl-LA-ble.  Simple’s better.

Basil, who could choose 2 guests to come to his party, chose Evan, 5, (from his preschool) and Moira,11, who lives down the street and feels like part of the family. Sings in the choir with Luke at church. They played miniature golf (putt-putt) and came back to the house for homemade pizza, salad and birthday cake with ice cream.   Both Heather and Chad make great pizza. I’m an expert appreciator.

Basil told me a few days back, “Momo, I’d like yellow cake with blue frosting and mint chocolate chip ice cream.” So I shopped for ingredients, then baked the cake while he was out of sight…a single round, not a layer cake. I’d greased the pan but still had trouble getting it to drop onto the plate. Loosened it with a knife, turned it over onto the plate then let it just sort of hang out for awhile. When nothing happened, I started pounding on the pan. Nothing subtle. “GET OUT!” Wanted to frost it while it was warm. Finally, it dropped but not before splitting.

Good thing I made an extra amount of frosting…in two shades of blue. Time to patch and do some damage control. Slathered it in lighter blue, then swirled darker blue like hills and bumps.  Next, I centered a small plastic yellow and red bicycle, wrote “BASIL 5” and set 5 primary colored candles around his name.  Cake served as a visual for his gift…a used red mountain bike so he could join the rest of his family on rides. NEW blue bike helmet, USED bicycle.  

As for the cake, it looked great from the outside but, once sliced, fell into two halves.  My attempts at camouflage exposed to all. The kids squealed, “Put the ice cream inside and we can have an ice cream sandwich!” Love those kids! No weeping and wailing about an imperfect piece of cake. In a flash, their fresh eyes and open hearts saw the possibilities of something new and better, while I sought damage control.

Thank God for kids! You can have your cake and eat it TWO. Cake with ice cream and a lesson in math and life:   2 halves can become something more than the sum of what was first intended.  Evidenced in ice cream and blue frosting on a nose, hands and the smile of one 5 year old grandson and his 2 friends along with the laughter from 2 siblings, 2 parents and 1 overjoyed grandmother.

I’d like to grow up to be more like that since I turn seventy-FIVE in June. Take what’s broken and see the possibilities of something new and better. It only takes dumping damage control in favor of being willing to take a split second to see what just might be something more wonderful than the original. Thanks, Basil. You taught me, “Silent Night. Holy Day Time.” This time it was Holy Thursday…a day when, “Anything’s possible.” Preach it, Bazy!