It’s my birthday.  Let’s get sentimental…about kids, and cake.

I love my job. And I love cake. If you asked me what my passion in life is, I would tell you I have two: kids and cake. I bake without boundaries. I don’t make chocolate cake, I make chocolate cake with orange mounds of buttercream frosting. I don’t just frost cupcakes, I frost little pieces of heaven that would bring in all kinds of oohs and ahhs at the Iowa State Fair exhibit hall. Yeah, I am confident in my baking skills.

After the hours of love and creativity I pour into my cupcakes I send them into the untamed wild we know as a child’s birthday party. They are poked at, licked, smashed, ate, destroyed. Most importantly, they are enjoyed. My friend recently asked me why I spend so much time on them. After all, they are typically being made for toddlers. I do it because they are enjoyed. This is the reality of my life. I love that my cake is gone. This means someone loved it.

My job is a lot like baking delicious little slices of delight. Your child is my delicious little slice of delight. I spend hours on him. I pour my love and creativity into him. I think about what I can do to make him better while I drive, while I watch my shows, even while I am playing with my own children. I know that after I give all of this effort, all of my best, he will go out into the wild and not need me anymore. That’s okay, he will be enjoyed even more than he is right now. I will be sad that one of my favorite masterpieces is no longer my project. But I know he is loved. Let your child be my cake.