Ohmystinkinheck

Emelie finished this cake just in time for a birthday party for a close friend of hers. She had just enough time to change clothes and pack her bag for the sleepover when she finished. She spent 4 hours icing the cake and was really proud of it - of course I had to get a photo.

Anyway, her friend arrived to pick her up and that’s when it happened; that thing we all pray doesn’t happen - the thing that you try so hard not to let happen.

She lost her grip on the cake tray and it slid down her arm and smashed into her chest. I wanted to cry with her, but just held her head to my chest and let her get it out of her system. And then, while the other girls and the birthday girl’s father waited in the car, we took off the Starburst she had carefully pressed flat and cut, picked-off what was left of the name with a toothpick, and re-smoothed the icing.

Once it was smoothed over, we replaced the Starburst circles, but there wasn’t any of the icing left to do the name over.

It didn’t look the same, but it was all we could do in a time crunch; and then, she cried again.

Sometimes it is hard to sit by as a mother and watch these things happen - these things you have absolutely no control over.

I guess that’s what makes it a life lesson for both of us, eh?

26 Responses to “Not exactly a piece of cake.”

1. clistyB

   Heart wrenching

2. Elda

   :(

   So sorry that happened. But the fact that she tried to make the best of it shows what a strong daughter you have.

3. The True Vine

   This past Fathers’ Day, my dh (as the father of 10) was asked to speak in church on his thoughts on being a father. He listed a bunch of things that he liked about being a father and then some things he didn’t like about being a father. The one thing that he actually choked up on fell in the “things I don’t like about being a father”: I hate seeing them disappointed.

4. citystreams

   Poor thing. It’s a beautiful cake. At least you got a great picture. Although, I know it’s not the same.
   One day when she’s a famous wedding cake designer, she’ll be able to tell this story to nervous brides and laugh before she shows them her amazing inventions for carting perfect cakes all over town.

5. April in CT

   What a beautiful cake! I’m so sad for her that this happened. :( She’s got an amazing talent and I only wish I could commission a cake from her!

6. Golden

   Noooooooooooooooooo!

   I’m so glad you got a photo of it at least! She sure is talented and a generous friend!

7. Kate

   Oh, the heartbreak! How disappointing for Em. Even though the cake was salvaged, and the birthday girl was probably still thrilled, it’s so hard to have something like that happen. Bless her sweet heart for doing it in the first place, and then for caring so much about it.

   Keep up the good work Em! Your friend is a lucky girl to have YOU as a friend.

8. MMM

   Poor thing! It was beautiful!!!!

9. Gin

   My goodness, she must be so proud of herself! Regardless of the cake slip, her friend must have felt an immense amount of joy!

   I remember when I was 17, I made a 20″ cake in the shape of a Mountain Dew bottle (his favorite drink ever) and when he came over to pick me up, he cried. No one had ever done anything like that for him. The joy he felt on seeing my gift will stay with me forever.

10. Octamom

    So sorry–and so glad you got a picture first–bless her heart!

    Blessings

11. bethany actually

    Oh, no! That’s such an awful feeling. I hope the party went well and she got over it after everyone tasted how delicious the cake was!

12. Sue at eLuckypacket

    Oh dear :-( It’s a lovely cake, Emelie. You are SUCH a talented girl!

13. Liz C.

    She kept going. That’s an amazing, wonderful thing. She fixed what could be fixed, as best as she could fix it, and stood back up. Even if there are tears in her eyes, it’s the standing back up that makes it an okay thing.

    And, speaking as a grown-up girl who has friends who occasionally bring cake–even without my name on it, a cake made with love just tastes better than store-bought. I’ll bet E’s friend thinks so, too.

14. Amy

    I think the hard part of being a parent is not being able to take the pain or disappointment away. However, after parenting for 17 years, I’ve realized that our kids learn more from facing disappointments than from anything else. It makes them stronger and more confident in their ability to stand on their own two feet. It prepares them for life.
    My grandmother decorated cakes and she taught me how to decorate. Such great memories.

15. mary

    Oh NO! I am so sorry that happened to her. I know the feeling…but I imagine it’s multiplied by 100 when you’re that age.

    And I must say, Emelie is quite talented!

16. Barchbo

    Oh, Emelie, what love! A gorgeous cake! Such talent! I am so sad that it didn’t turn out as you hoped, but what a wonderful present. I can tell that you are a treasured and much-cherished friend!

17. Cecilia

    My brother-in-law is a pastry chef and my sister often delivers the cakes for him and the thought of dropping someone’s cake is her greatest fear. She has told me that her worst nightmares involve dropping a wedding cake in front of the bride.

    I’m sorry for your daughter but it was a beautiful cake and sweet sentiment.

18. Stefani

    oh NO! Poor Emelie! That just plain sucks. I can tell you that transporting the ONE and only one wedding cake that I’ve ever made was the thing that gave me cold shivers for WEEKS beforehand.
    It made it, but I swore I’d never do that again. Never.

19. Mandy

    Oh this breaks my heart for her. How disappointing. But the cake looks fabulous and she is blessed to have a proud mommy that got a picture before the mishap. I am assuming that even after near dropping it, It looked better than anything I could do! :)

20. Elaine

    I don’t know if it’s because I haven’t seen my girls in four days but just reading that made me want to cry too. Or maybe it’s that I know what it’s like to work so hard on something only to have it go all wonky at the last minute.

    It’s beautiful though… she did an amazing job and I’m sure everyone ate it without a complaint!

21. nicki

    Ohhh no. I decorate cakes myself and know the feeling of slaving for hours on something just for it to break/melt/get dropped.

    I have a story for her:
    I was 9 months pregnant at the end of August. I was making four sheet cakes for a wedding - and at the time hadn’t learned a lot of the ‘tricks’ for decorating. Anyway, two of my vanilla cakes (which are much less dense and more breakable) broke apart when I tried to frost them. I was reduced to a sobbing puddle and vowed never to make cakes again. In the end it worked out just fine…it turned out they didn’t even need the other two cakes.

    Six years later I’m still decorating, and getting better all the time! I just did one last weekend if you want to see it, it’s on my blog. Keep up the good work Emelie, your cakes are awesome!

22. Sheri

    Oh my heart hurts for her. My son wanted a dinosaur cake for his birthday several years ago. I couldn’t make it so I bought it. He so loved that cake, so much that he insisted on carrying it to the party. He dropped it on the cement, completely fipped it upside down. It was ruined, and my heart hurt for him that day too.
    But she certainly did a beautiful job.

23. Leta

    Awwwwwwwwwwwww! A few years ago I made a birthday cake for my best friend. We left for a few hours to eat dinner and when we returned, we found the cake upside down in the middle of the floor. Our curious new kittens had discovered it and pushed it off the counter. Emelie’s cake was very cute!

24. stacey

    Emelie,
    You are brilliantly talented. LOVE the cake! Does it taste as good as it looks? And you are such a sweet friend! No friend of mine has ever baked me a birthday cake. um, hint, hint.

25. Mrs. Wilson

    Oh that just sucks so much! I totally would have cried. I almost cried reading it!

    The cake looks just marvelous though. That girl of yours sure is talented!

26. Serene and Not Herd

    Gravity sucks!