Birthdays & Dirt Cakes
One of my fondest memories of my brother happened when he was just 16 years old. There were five years between us, which felt like lifetimes when you are young. We often didn’t speak the same language, and our friends were completely different. But as I went off to college, the gap slowly started to bridge.
One April, as his birthday approached, I felt inspired to do something sweet for his cake. We didn’t have Pinterest or any other app to search for great ideas back then in the 80’s. I was still using the Commodore 64 as our computer, which of course did NOT connect to the internet. But somehow, I had come across the dirt cake recipe. I assume it was through our then Pinterest channel network of older women at our church kitchen that made items for their grandkids. I thought about it and it seemed fitting for his sixteenth birthday. It was fun, silly and most likely the last time I could get away with something like that.
Then I thought about it, and decided that it would be even better if I served it to him in a sand bucket. So I went to the store and they were just getting in the summer items. I picket up a brand new bucket and a bag of gummy worms. Now, I could never have imagined that my plans for a little birthday fun would turn like they did. I went home, prepped the bucket, make the dirt cake and carefully inserted the worms and planted the shovel right on top. It was perfect.
When we began to celebrate his birthday, I brought out the cake, bucket and all. I was so sure that he would laugh and get a big kick out of it. Now, I don’t remember tormenting him with dirt when he was younger, but when I brought that cake out, it must have triggered a memory of something just awful. He was instantly infuriated with me. He was prepped for CAKE and I had brought him dirt. I never for and instant thought he would think it was real dirt, but without even trying apparently he had bought it hook, line AND sinker.
This is where the real fun began. I began to torment him to try a little. That I made it special. My feelings would be hurt. I don’t think it was until I shoveled some of the dirt cake onto his plate and he saw the brightly colored gummy worm sticking out that he realized it was all a joke. Never an intentional joke. I just thought the cake would be fun and it was more than I imagined.
To this day, nearly 25 years later he still remembers it. We still laugh and joke about it. Which is why I have chosen this special memory as our activity of the day.
Luke 11:11 asks, “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?” Clearly my brother had asked for cake and by all appearances, I had given him dirt. Remember how crushed he was. For an instant, he was infuriated with me, but what he perceived as something hateful, awful and mean, had actually been something that he has been blessed by for years. The memory has far outlived the cake and has been a sweet string to tie us together.
But that causes me to wonder, how many times we have viewed or perceived something that God is doing or working out in our lives as a curse, when in fact He is working out a blessing that we cannot even imagine.
As you ponder that, here is the recipe for your own sweet memories. I have altered it a little from the original years ago, but not much.
A. Pumpkin Recommends…
The Deep Blue Sea
I like reading this book because you can sort of train yourself. I like saying tounge twisters a lot, my favorite is “How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood, he would chuck as much wood as a woodchuck could if a woodchuck could chuck wood.” So in this book I like that you can try to say, the further you get into the book, over and over again. How fast can you say it? Read this book.
Belly Button Boy
This book is hilarious in a like this could never happen sort of way. Leaves everywhere, and they all seem to be growing from a very strange place. What would you do if you were in his precarious situation?
Hooray For Hat!
This book reminds me of my mom. Someone sent hats to cheer people up, my mom cheers me up all the time. She’s fun, wild, crazy and the lift of the party. She says it’s her special gift from God. I mean, she can make eating mashed potatoes fun. I enjoyed this happy book and I think you will too.
Ripley’s RBI #2 The Dragons Triangle
This is the second book in, what is now, one of my favorite book series. I debated whether to read this book because it referred to a dragon. I don’t read books about dragons. I decided to read it anyway. I soon found out the truth of this story. So no worries, this is an okay book. I think that those who liked the first RBI book (Ripley’s RBI #1 A Scaly Tale, day two.) would like this book. It is an adventure through Japan, find out how the RBI handle when the in their in the Dragons Triangle.