Cake Balls and Life Lessons

When I was a little girl, I remember my mom serving homemade chocolate cupcakes and ice-cream for dessert. Our dinner guest, Howie, carefully peeled away the cupcake wrapper and crumbled his cupcake into his chocolate ice-cream.

“Howie! What are you doing to your cupcake?”

Mr.Gabriel’s eyes met hers with innocence and confusion, wondering why it wasn’t obvious. With a mouthful of cupcake, I too, waited in anticipation for her response. Good ol’ Dad, ready for the rescue, “Hey, that’s a great idea! I’m doing that, too!” Feeling a little smile tickle the corners of my chocolate-flavored lips, I watched as Dad mashed his remaining cupcake into his melting ice-cream. I repressed my laughter by taking a bite of the cold chocolatey-goodness. A resigned sigh escaped as Mom took her seat and with deliberate poise, scooped a small bite of ice-cream –without the cupcake– into her mouth.

Every time I make cake balls, I fondly recall that comedic evening. My family loves cake balls! I can’t emphasize that enough! Although there’s no ice-cream in this scrumptious little dessert, there is plenty of frosting! The process of making cake balls can be messy, but it’s always worth it! Make a cake. Destroy it. Mix in frosting. Form balls. Freeze. Add the coating. I really think Howie was onto something. He could have capitalized on his mushing-and-mixing-cake idea!

Another thought often pops into my head when I’m up to my elbows in cake batter and frosting: break apart to re-create. I always use a box cake because I can’t bear to bake a cake from scratch just to destroy it. Maybe someday I will, but I haven’t yet. Perhaps one day I will take the time and care to bake a unique, carefully chosen cake from scratch. I’ll take great pains in precise measurements. Mix thoroughly. Bake at just the right temperature for the exact amount of time perfection requires. Let it cool. Get a large bowl. Then completely destroy my perfect-made-from-scratch cake.

Break it into pieces…

…Grind it into crumbs…

…Add frosting & mix until it…

…no longer resembles cake.

Funny. Thought-provoking. I think that pretty much resembles my life. God took great care in uniquely creating me, carefully designing the way I look and the way I think. And although He does not destroy me, He definitely reshapes me. Sometimes it feels like destruction, but it’s not. It’s just remolding, reshaping, redefining.

One of the plethora of reasons I love my boys and their autism is because I’m beginning to see this process much more clearly. Being a parent takes away any delusions of grandeur. Being a parent of boys with autism has taken away any false pretenses I may have had about my ability and “awesomeness” as a parent. I can be impatient, self-serving, and stubborn, to name a few of the less-than-desirable qualities. Autism in Noah and Judah is teaching me patience, perspective, and self-sacrifice. What I love is that they add such rich sweetness and hilarious comedy to my life!

I think I can speak for my husband, too, when I say,

“They’re the sweet frosting to my crumbled cake!”

I wouldn’t have it any other way!