I also love them for knowing the birthday cake is an afterthought for my parties. The boxed mix and canned frosting work for me, and even that sometimes gets a little ruined.
This weekend, for example, my boxed cake and canned frosting cake melted in the heat of my sunny kitchen. It was like a middle school volcano science project. It was not edible, not to be served. This was not discovered until 30 minutes before the party began at another location. I handled it well, planned to get a grocery store birthday cake along with balloons.
*
With minutes to gather said items, I rush to the bakery counter and find a rather special man approaching. Special as in a little different and awesomely unique and I am totally confident he can help me. I ask him to write Happy Birthday Zane on top of this overly frosted cake. I leave to get the ballooons while he works on the cake. I am satisfied with how much better this cake will look instead of the erupted volcano oozing on my counter at home.
I wait for 20 minutes for a few measly shots of helium. Apparently, Safeway takes flower arrangements quite seriously. So, if someone is in front of you in line with flowers and you are in a hurry, just realize you are going to be very late. I go back for the cake balloonless and talk myself into being okay if balloons aren't going to work out because I need to leave this store before I claw someone's eyes out. It is just all taking way too long.
I get the cake and I stare in amazement and wonder if it's written in Japanese. Upon first glance I cannot identify a single letter.
"It looks nice, doesn't it?" he asks with a proud smile.
I say yes and thank him. I go to retrieve the balloons, staring blankly at this messy script with every step. I don't have time to try again and there is no other bakery man behind the counter. It has to be okay. I smirk at what other people would do, my friends that put more stock into the cake, and they are on my shoulders encouraging me and telling me it's fine. I finally get the balloons, after she pops one, and I am on my way.
The party was awesome, even with one less balloon and a cryptic cake. I find gratitude in the part of me that is okay with imperfection, that B student in me, especially in crunch time.
