We celebrated my grandson Brock’s 4th birthday last weekend. And guess who brought the birthday cake? (For a BIG hint, see my last blog.)

It was the first time I’d tried to do any decorating outside of my Hobby Lobby class, to create something without the teacher close by—her hand steady on mine as she showed me how to make shells and roses, how to ice the sides without crumbs showing through, how to make flawless letters and flowing cursive.

Ohh boy, did I miss her! The first cake I made split apart, so I got up early the day of the party to make another. (And, yes, I DID pray while I watched it on the cooling rack.) The icing (I found out a cake artist never says “frosting”) was soon speckled with crumbs. (Drat!) I couldn’t seem to get the frosting…er, icing I wanted to use for the “Happy Birthday Brock” to turn red. For 20 minutes I added the coloring. I finally settled on salmon.

When I placed the tip on the tube and began to squeeze out the letters, they weren’t neat and prim. They were big, thick, borderline sloppy. But I soon realized that to hesitate would, literally, to be lost in this endeavor. Every pause brought a surge of icing. So I plunged ahead, making the most of the bizarre style. How about a Dr. Seuss-looking greeting?

I set the finished product in my cake carrier, wondering if I should take it. How bad would it look to my family? And how would it taste? I had spooned raspberry preserves between the layers. A good idea?

In the end, I took it to the party, which was held at the Indiana Dunes State Park where Brock’s family was camping. And you know what? My family LOVED it! Every last piece was eaten. They thought the writing was fun and child-like (oh, yeah, that was the look I was after). And the cake was “super moist” and the filling “yummy.”

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” the well-known proverb tells us. Ah, how true! To 4-year-old Brock that cake was perfect—it was round and sweet and, best of all, his.

I’m learning anew that love covers a multitude of flaws. Including those pesky little crumbs in my icing.