It was quite recently my Mother transitioned to Other World a move very much expected and made at the expected time. Though I very much could discuss the intricacies of a typical bout with cancer it’s a song many are very familiar with one that hasn’t quite ended but we will get there for the masses. Seeee my self of humour still very much intact.
Everything I write here is a marker that I’ll be able to look back on even after the landscape of the internet vastly changes from the way the majority of you who stumble upon these posts so early in the 21st century observe it at the time of this post though this is another matter altogether. It seemed appropriate to recount a story between myself and my Mother and this one happens to be about cake.
I’ve attended many birthday parties in my youth and it seems quite obligatory to attend them when presented invites to maintain early friendships. I however was not quite fond of wanting a party myself be it at our home or a rented location. I made this clear to my Mother at a particularly preadolescent age. I remember her being quite relieved at this statement, more than willing to accommodate. We had a fairly straight forward and frank way of communicating which is very refreshing, I could say this about other members of the family too but it didn’t quite hit the same as with her.
What Mum did seem to have great concern on was the cake I wanted and not so much potential gifts I would desire. No that much was very easy to produce as my tastes were quite well known to her with clippings from various catalogues and magazines stuck to what would be essentially vision boards that made it apparent what I was seeking.
She very much knew I was a cake consuming connoisseur and one of my selfish desires was to devour a gigantic cake all to myself and what better time than ones birthday where all judgement can be spared and baring a few slices to family members with no party then essentially the rest is all mine… right.
Looking Mum straight in the eyes confidentaly stated I really wanted a gigantic cake, and by big I meant like those giant surprise cakes people jump out of but very much consumable and without a woman in it jumping out because that would be odd and I can’t eat her (stop it, this is a wholesome story). Further I requested it to be a lemon sponge cake covered in icing and glories sprinkles!
I recall her laughing at this notion and a lecture on just how irresponsible this would be if she even allowed me to take on what would be enough sugar and calorie intake to feed half our neighbours on the street and health concerns. Nonetheless I was determined. This was more integral to an experience I desired than my first skateboarding journey or riding the bumper car at the carnival….alone! I certainly had the appetite to handle it to take on the challenge and she knew that, besides what if I was some budding Guinness record holder in the making and this was just the catalyst. After the laughter subsided I just remember her adjusting her trademark headscarf and heading out to work and I headed off to school.
The idea of receiving this massive cake seemed like a pipe-dream I actually didn’t think of it again. It’s not that I didn’t think this request could be met, I had very realistic expectations. I was honestly content to just just a vocal happy birthday out of anyone’s lips. Believe me I’d already had a taste of receiving a bountiful of gifts one year and the experience of nout the next. Besides birthdays were tricky in our household back and very much depended on the state of so much around us even if things were “good”.
Come my actually birthday and a round of birthday wishes from the family my Mother heads off to work. I may of happened to be ill that day you know a birthday stomach bug something like that totally not to relax at home and in the garden. Ah but something was different that that, a ring on the door bell, I could hear it from the rec room. A package perhaps, nope, but also also yes.
In comes Mum with the biggest white box, wheeling it in the house with her friend a local baker, the box resting against what appeared to be a dolly. In my mind I thought what have I done this couldn’t be the cake could it. No way. This must be what it means when they say be careful what you wish for as this monster of a packaging box indeed was the guardian of a 3 foot cake. All of a sudden maybe having that party just for the extra mouths seemed more appropriate than taking on this mammoth.
Looking at Mum I thanked her and the baker who was a family friend. Obviously I knew I wouldn’t be eating this alone (I could though, I really could of) I was just in awe that Mum even bothered to do this. The cake was the type I asked and rainbow sprinkles covered every layer.
I shared the cake with Family later in the evening with plans for the weekend to attend a theme park and for the record I actually did eat half the cake, I told you I was a fiend but not a bottomless pit so we place some left overs in the fridge, froze another section and then gave much of the rest of the cake to some friends and neighbours the following day if they were interested. They were. I already looked at Mum like a manifestation of Gaia but after that day now she was Gaia and the bringing of cake as an extra title.
I had this inkling at that point that I would always try to get that special request on my Mums birthday, if not now then when I was older and not just for birthdays but whenever she would spill on something she was desiring if it was in my power I’d try to make it happen.
Now I didn’t always get to do so but there were some magic moments over the years where she got her “giant cake” surprises too from me.
Keep in touch Mum, and have fun in Other World, it’s just the beginning.
Regards,
Alexander/Zenchi
