Apparently, I do! Call it a last-ditch effort to shed a few pounds despite not meeting my goal, I was crazy enough to start a new diet one day before my birthday. I did this unbeknownst to my husband, who secretly worked for a month with my friends to plan a surprise birthday party.
Boy was I surprised. Not only did he put his heart and soul into throwing a party for me, it actually included a guest list of my friends (this is a story for another blog). I was especially surprised when he presented me with the most fabulous two-tiered birthday cake.
Surprised doesn't even describe my feelings about the cake. I was over the moon about it. This wasn't just any ole' cake. It was the one that caught my eye almost 14 years ago when we were shopping for our wedding cake. I wanted the three-tiered cake with the basket-weave design and he wanted something - let's just say, "cheaper."
You all know my addiction with sweets, so I don't have to tell you how hard it was to resist having a slice. But not having a slice meant hurting my husband's feelings and coming off as unappreciative of his hard work.
Planning the party without my knowing was one feat, but getting someone to recreate the design I so desperately wanted for our wedding cake was another. To hear him tell the story of how he had to search online and make a few phone calls, one would think he had to run the Amazing Race to get the job done.
Given all of this, I didn't have the heart to tell him and all of the people who showed up to help me celebrate this milestone that I am grateful for the gesture, but I won't be partaking in any of the delicious goodies, especially the cake.
The idea to make the birthday cake my long lost, but not forgotten wedding cake turned out to be a two-for-the price of one deal for hubby. No, he didn't get a discount. According to him, it cost him an arm and a leg.
It was a two-fer because it was a chance for him to show me that not only could he pull off such a task without any help from me, but that he was listening. It was one of his most romantic gestures in all of our 13 years of marriage. The bonus is that he did it in front of an audience of my friends. He gets extra kudos for that. It's sort of like getting roses delivered to your office on Valentine's Day for all of your coworkers to see.
The kicker was he didn't just roll out a cake with lit candles for all to sing happy birthday. Nope, he began with a story that went something like this: "Thirteen years ago ... I made a mistake by not listening to my wife because she is the smartest person I know.
Okay, so those weren't his exact words, but they are close enough. You get the idea. He simply explained had he known how important it was for me to have the cake with the basket weave design all those years ago (don't forget the butter cream frosting), he would have given me what I wanted.
Here's the clincher, he clasped his hands together as if he was praying to God, but I am pretty sure he was praying to me, and said, "I hope that this makes up for my ...," I don't quite remember the rest. I am sure he apologized for his insensitivity to my wants.
Who cares? I was so touched by his ingenious gift, I cried and kissed him. One would have thought he was proposing again.
Now, before you get all "that's so sweet" on me, because we both know it was, he didn't exactly go away empty-pockets either. The benefits of me finally getting my dream cake certainly outweighs the cost of any expensive cake.
He was able to redeem himself of a mistake he made years ago by being a groom who actually wanted some "say so" in how things went down for our wedding. Clearly he won on the cake. Oh yeah, and what dresses the bridesmaids will wear. Who knew, right?
Had he known then, what he knows now, I bet he would have just gone with the basket weave design to begin with. It would have saved him 13 years of hearing me complain about how much I regretted not having the cake of my dreams every time our anniversary or my birthday rolled around.
To make matters worse, we received a dish set with the basket weave design as a wedding gift. It was purely a coincidence, but added salt to the wound none the less. Eventually I sold them in a garage sale because I could not stand to look at the dishes any longer. They were a constant a reminder of how I did not get my dream cake. But was all of this madness really about the cake or something deeper, like giving in and settling for a less expensive and attractive cake?
Of course it was! Did I mention I have an addiction to sweets? The cake had the butter cream frosting just like I like it. The frosting was practically sliding off of the cake it was so buttery. A friend even added some finishing touches like fresh flowers just like the original. What's a girl to do? I had cake and it was delicious!
Oh the guilt! But my guilt didn't stem from me constantly thinking about how many calories I was consuming with every bite. It was from how I let something so petty like a cake design be even an inkling of contention in my marriage.
I am pretty sure it didn't eat away at hubby quite as much as it did me. It probably didn't eat away at him at all, but obviously he figured out he'd better do something to right my wrong or else he'd spend the rest of his life hearing about it.
Lucky for me God blessed me with a man who cared enough to rectify the situation no matter how silly it may be. He saw how important it was for me to have this cake because to me, it was perfect. Everybody knows nothing and no one is perfect, except for what we imagine in our mind. And God.
There's nothing left to say. Who can top God's perfectness? I guess this the part where I wrap up my story by talking about how I am also blessed to have lost any weight considering the holiday festivities and the boxes of Girl Scout cookies currently clogging up my dinning room. If you count negativity and holding grudges as weight, then let's add two more pounds to my total.
Now I am going to throw in a bunch of cliches like, it was better late than never, and having my cake and eating it too was so worth the wait.
