As I prepared to make a dessert for our retreat, the spring air tinged with the promise of Easter, I reached for my cookbook. The choice was clear – carrot cake. But as I flipped through the pages and landed on the recipe, a wave of emotions crashed over me. There it was, staring back at me with unwavering familiarity – Mary’s carrot cake. The connection was instant, visceral, and painfully bittersweet.
Each measured ingredient, every stir of the batter, felt like a journey through time. The echoes of my past, of a marriage that had once defined me, reverberated in the quiet of my kitchen. The layers of the cake mirrored the layers of my life – intricate, complex, and at times, fragile. As the cake baked and the aroma filled the room, I couldn’t help but see the parallels between the transformation in the oven and the transformation in my own life.
With each step, each carefully crafted layer, I realized that my life, much like the cake, had been a blend of experiences – love, sorrow, happiness, and heartache all folded together. And just like the icing that adorned the cake, my life too had been embellished with moments of hope, dreams, losses, and the simple joys of everyday living.
As I gazed at the finished cake, a sense of peace washed over me. The taste was familiar, comforting, and undeniably delicious. With each bite, I savored not just the flavor of the cake but the sweetness of acceptance, of coming to terms with the past and embracing the present.
In that moment, standing in my kitchen with Mary’s carrot cake before me, I saw my life in a new light. It was a life rich with layers, complexities, and unexpected flavors. And as I took another bite, I whispered to myself, “My life is good. It’s full of icing and quite good.”
The next time I make Mary’s carrot cake, I know it will be more than just a dessert. It will be a reminder of the goodness that exists in every layer of life, waiting to be savored and appreciated.
Shari Busha
Co-Founder of Rooted & Connected
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