If you don’t already know this about me, I have a major sweet tooth. I’m a huge fan of desserts and all things sweet. I think this love started when I was very young, and was fostered throughout my life by the fact that there were always, always baked goodies and treats on display at my house.
A cake keeper has been a staple in my mom’s kitchen basically forever. If you don’t know, a cake keeper is one of those glass stands with a dome top where you can proudly display your baked goods. My mom has a beautiful hand painted glass cake keeper that she bought from a craft show years ago. Growing up, it was always filled with some kind of sweet treat. When I say always, I mean always.
Cake, muffins, cookies, bread, you name it. They all made a rotating appearance in the cake keeper. The treats were rarely for any kind of special occasion, they were there simply to enjoy as you pleased. Pretty amazing, right? Yes, Mama Pam really taught us the importance of a nice baked good.
The cake keeper ritual
Growing up, all of my friends caught on to the trend, and it became a ritual to check the cake keeper on every visit to our house to find out what was inside. It became the first stop anyone would make when they came over. Everyone made a direct line to the kitchen to see what kind of goodies were there to devour.
Back when I was in high school, I rode the bus in 9th & 10th grade. We had just moved to a new neighborhood and I was nervous about having to ride the bus not knowing anyone. Turns out I had nothing to be nervous about, but that’s always the way it goes, isn’t it? The first day of riding the bus, I became friends with two girls (twins-Amber & Ashley) that lived in my subdivision a few streets over. They had moved to the area a few years before me, so they knew how I felt.
Once I made friends, I looked forward to the bus ride. Not in the morning, of course, because I had to catch the bus at 6:20am. Yes, you read that right. We were one of the first stops on the route. Lucky me because I just LOVE waking up super early and standing outside when it was cold and dark. (Did you pick up on the sarcasm?) But the afternoon rides were great! Everyone was in a good mood, having fun, and laughing together.
The twins and I quickly started a tradition where every afternoon, they would either come over to my house for a few hours, or I’d go to theirs. The deciding factor on where we spent our afternoon was always what was in the cake keeper. Ashley would ask “What kind of baked goods does Mom have for us today?”
When everything changed
Being a huge fan of baking, you can imagine my Mother’s heartbreak when she found out she was diabetic. Naturally, after that, she began really monitoring the amount of sugar that was in the things she ate. Of course, there were still always baked goods in the cake keeper, (she wouldn’t DARE leave it empty!), but they were slightly different, and contained way less sugar than before.
One day, soon after the diabetes diagnosis, my dad came over to take my sister and I to dinner. He walked in and made his usual stop at the cake keeper and found… angel food cake (gross). He passed, and decided to instead grab a glass of tea from the fridge, since sweet tea was another thing we had at our house at all times. He took a big gulp, realized it had no sugar in it, and yelled, “What the hell is going on here?!?”
We all laughed, of course, but the truth is that it was a tough adjustment. It’s hard when you’re used to things being a certain way for so long, and they change almost overnight. Things you come to expect and take for granted because they always seem so certain.
Change isn’t always easy
My mom did what she had to do to keep herself healthy, even if it meant making a huge change in her life, which it did. For most of us, when we’re faced with a change, it is very rarely a life or death situation, but sometimes we get so caught up in the fact that things are changing that we almost treat it that way. Change doesn’t always have to be a bad thing (unless it is giving up sweets). In the moment, you may be frustrated, but it’s possible that change could also lead to something amazing.
So many people are in the middle of major changes in their life and what they thought it would look like. Think back to the last major change you experienced. How did you feel in the moment? How did you react? When it feels like the rug is being pulled out from underneath you, it’s easy to get frustrated and overwhelmed. Once a little time passes, though, it becomes easier to look at things more objectively, and move forward.
The next time you are facing a major change, just know that you’re strong enough to overcome whatever it may be, or the universe wouldn’t have given it to you. Dealing with change is never easy, but it’s absolutely possible. Power through, and eat the baked goods while you still can.
