All Good Things Must Come to an End

Sanjay's t-shirt said it well: Life is beautiful. And before 4 pm on Wednesday afternoon, so was my kitchen. While I appreciate the philosophical sentiment on the American Idol hopeful's t-shirt, I've struggled to appreciate his singing. However, he is in good company since Sanjaya Malakar was not the only funky teen whose notorious career came to a screeching halt on Wednesday night. The same can be said for S1’s baking days.

Yesterday after school, S1 tried to make some cupcakes while I was away from home. It required several cellphone conversations to finally direct him to the location of a cake mix, baking cups, Kitchen Aid mixer, eggs, then another cake mix (my first clue that things were not going well) and cupcake tins. It was during a distressful fifth phone call in which I finally assured S1 not to worry, that yes, forgetting the oil is a problem, but that I could bake the cupcakes when I arrived home.

As I pulled in the driveway my son stood there with a face almost as forlorn as his chocolate cake batter dribbled t-shirt. Upon stepping out of the car he gave me an unsolicited, slightly awkward hug. DH raised his eyebrows and nodded, most likely thinking something like, “Hey, our son loves and appreciates his mother. That is so heart warming. I am the best Dad ever.”

Since I am not as gullible as DH, the hug put me on notice. I did not comprehend, nor could anyone have fully comprehended, the extent to which the venture had gone astray. I stepped into my kitchen to find five crummy cupcake tins, four mucky mixing bowls, three empty egg shells, two disheveled Duncan Hines cake mix boxes, and countless batter spills adorning the sink, oven, counters and kitchen floor. All this is what was left after S1 attempted to clean up. Now the hug was making much more sense.

While I have difficulty comprehending what is so complicated about combining water, oil, and eggs with a mix and beating for 2 minutes, I think S1 tends to make baking more challenging than it actually is. Much akin to what Sanjaya does with his faux hawk silly stunts and singing. And like observing the latest-to-be-voted-off idol sing, watching S1 bake can be excruciating, however, you can’t help but appreciate his unique style. Cake battered t-shirt or Life is Beautiful t-shirt. You gotta admit they are both lovable.