Today Takes the Cake

Okay, I've got to be honest with you. I ate cake just 5-10 minutes ago. With my fingers. Off my daughter's plate. Sad.
I debated sharing this since it was such a small indescretion but in order for this blog to truely reflect my experience this year--it has to have the good...and the not so good.
It didn't just happen. Today was one of those days that every woman experiences and try as I might to handle it all with inner composure and grace, well...licking cake off my fingers just proves I don't have the control that I wish I had.
It started before dawn when my body did not wake me in the early morning hours as it did last week and even through the weekend. No, today I slept blissfully until my alarm went off. That meant no workout. Still, I was grateful for the extended sleep and figured that I'd fit the exercise in tonight instead.
Then there was the snow. Need I say more? No buses running in the county which meant I had two choices: Stay home with my children or drive them in and go to work. I opted to go in a little late because it's a busy season and my laptop wasn't at home with me.
Got the kids off to school and hit the office rested and ready to tackle my job. Then the bomb hit. My co-worker shared that she had made a little mistake that would mean we needed to re-issue the 700 or so tax receipts that I had spent almost a week mailing out at the beginning of the month. She felt bad and hey, I've made a few mistakes of my own so I reassure her that's it okay and somehow we'll get the new ones out by the end of the week. Inside, I feel like someone just held my head under water after hours of treading just to keep above the surface. Going under...
The day slipped by as I tried desperately to field off the emails, calls, walk-in requests and sort the mail. I left the room for a few minutes and when I got back I noticed that my kid's school had called twice. What time was it? Oh shoot, it's almost 3pm and the school buses aren't running--I'm late. I shove my laptop in my case and any work I think I can handle at home. That's another thing I'm going to add to my evening to-do list a couple hours of work to make up for lost time.
Within a few minutes I'm on the road and I get another call from my daughter saying that a trusted friend is going to drive them home. We'll meet there. Whew! I relaxed. Maybe it was going to be alright after all.
The last thing I want to do when I get home is face the kitchen but I crank up the music and start working right away.
Did I mention my son's birthday is tomorrow but we're supposed to celebrate it as a family today because Grandpa & Grandma are going to take him out for supper on his special day. He's turning 13 and it's not his year to have a friend party, but he's okay because I'm going to make him a cake just the way he wants it. Chocolate with Oreo cookies, hold the icing.
I mix up the cake along with the Trojan turkey meatloaf that I was preparing. I then whipped up the eggs & milk, setting aside the wheat bread for the french toast that I was going to fry up last minute. My son, Trysten, loves french toast and I wanted to surprise him.
With everything in various stages of preparation I glance at the clock and realize that if I'm going to fit in some exercise, now is the time. I lace up the running shoes and turn on the news to log a total of 14 minutes on the elliptical before I jump off, dust the cake with icing sugar and run out the door to pick Shawn up from the bus stop.
Dinner is a flurry of excitement as I simultaneously fry french toast and pipe minimal dabs of white icing to Oreo cookies in order to afix them securely to the cake. The french toast is a hit and I pay tribute by eating one slice (wheat bread, egg & a bit of butter-no harm) without syrup and a serving of my turkey meatloaf creation (yum). I realize I completely forgot a veggie but shrug it off. I had plenty of veggies earlier in the day.
We do the whole birthday cake thing with Shawn & Paris piping extra icing on their portions while Trysten asks if I want a piece.

"Not this year, Trysten," I say with a big smile and more certainty than I feel. "Maybe I'll have a piece next year when you turn 14."

Trysten looks troubled by this and I wonder if he is going to be unduly upset by my rejection of his cake.

"But mom," he says, "Won't it be bad by then?"

We all laugh. I was doing fine. Chocolate cake with white icing is my favorite cake combination and as I'm mentally going through all my options I realize that nothing is going to replace the cake. I leave the table and the room and figured I'd pretty much made it through. That is, until my son asked me to help him pack the cake in the fridge. He was having trouble with it so I came along and helped put it away. I was touching the cake as I lifted it & placed it in containers. I popped a couple crumbs in my mouth. Umm...good...very moist...I pop a couple more. Then I see the cake on Paris' plate that she hadn't finished. There's white icing with it and before I know it I am using my fingers (later I did pick up a fork) and scooping the cake into my mouth. Funny thing is, my kids didn't say a word. I don't even think they noticed. It was all over in about 20 seconds. It wasn't much (maybe a 1/4 of a serving) and I did stop, but really I shouldn't have started at all. Refusing to feel guilty because that emotion is counterproductive, but well--I thought I'd better own up to my behaviour. I ate processed sugar in 2010. Not a perfect score, but that won't stop me from dusting myself off and proceeding on. What could I do better next time? I should have asked my husband to handle the cake. Hopefully, I will look back and this event will be only a tiny smudge on a very successful year!