Rested, Stuffed, and Content

The day is nearly over and the dinner went well. Breaking with the family tradition was not at all bleak, nor lonely. It was peaceful and restful.

By the time Steve got home from work, it was 7 pm,  and the stuffed roasted turkey was golden and ready to be carved, the Ruby Gold roasted potatoes and acorn squash were tender, and the green bean casserole and the yellow corn probably put us over the top.  

After the dinner, we sat down for a piece of Steven's birthday cake. His birthday was Tuesday, but we were celebrating it on Thanksgiving Day this year.

I don't bake birthday cakes anymore. "Been there, done that." When he was a child, I'd bake him a special cake. Each year, it was a different theme reflecting an interest of his. One year, the cake looked like a baseball mitt, another year, it looked like a bowling ball and pin. He was a State fan, I decorated it red and white. I read books about how to decorate cakes, and I bought the supplies I would need to make fancy or funny cakes. But all that seems so long ago now. I had the time to indulge in baking back then. I had time to make gifts of baked goods for my friends and family. Mostly, though, I had the interest to do these things.

But now, I'm into time-saving chores as much as possible, and I know a place that makes the best Bavarian creme-filled cake with whipped cream topping... the Super Wal-Mart Bakery! No, seriously, these cakes are better than the ones I have bought at the local bakery, and the price is lower. I asked them to trim it in Carolina Blue, the color of his #1 institution of education, where he attends Pharmacy school.

If I had known that Steven was going to show up at our house yesterday with more than half of a red-velvet cake, I probably wouldn't have bought the Bavarian creme-filled cake with whipped cream topping. As it was, his girlfriend had baked it for him, from scratch, no less! The holes in the icing left behind from the candles made me laugh... I tried to imagine 27 candles on the cake. I thought it might have looked like a bonfire, but Steven assured me they all fit and looked very nice on his cake. I had made some hot tea right away so we could havea slice, and it was delicious. Even the cream cheese icing was homemade. Kudos to her. It warms my heart to know that someone loves him enough to bake him a homemade cake.

Still, I had the problem of the birthday cake I had hidden away for him. We decided to have a piece for dessert after our Thanksgiving dinner. Of course, by then we were all too stuffed for cake. After we had cleared away the dishes, loaded up the dishwasher, and washed the pans, however, we found room for a piece of birthday cake. Then he packed up some leftover turkey and roasted potatoes and half of the cake, and left for his home in Durham.

It's been a good day. I am not stressed out wondering where the day went. We talked as we ate. I learned about my son's new job as an intern at a pharmacy in Durham. It was nice to have a quiet, family sit down meal, just like we had back when he was a kid. It was just what I needed. Maybe just what we all needed.

Indeed, it was a day to be thankful for.