A 3 year old’s birthday party shouldn’t strike fear into the heart of a parent, should it? Well, I was afraid. Very afraid…
Rewind 3 weeks to the night hubby asked Tyson what he’d like for his birthday… ‘A Finn McMissile Birthday Cake,’ he replied without blinking.
‘Oh, have you told mummy that?’ Hubby asked, amused.
‘No, just my friends.’ He said, casually.
I couldn’t help overhearing and my mind raced. Anyone who has a little boy aged 2 – 12 years has heard of Finn McMissile – a car from the Disney movie ‘Cars 2.’ It plays on high rotation in our house.
Those who know me well, know what a Domestic Goddess I am not. Before marrying hubby, I existed on a diet of toast and 2 minutes noodles.
Needless to say, cake decorating is not my thang!
I found myself suffering a severe case of parenting performance anxiety.
My mum was an amazing cake decorator. Each year, a week or so out from our birthdays, us kids would flick through the Women’s Weekly Birthday Cake book and choose whatever design our little hearts desired. Through some kind of genetic failure, none of her creative flare was passed down to me.
So, night after night, I Googled cake designs, scoured ebay for cake moulds and asked advice from family and friends. As the day approached, I was ‘Finn’ed out.
Talk about right down to the wire… an hour before our guests arrived (and I should clarify here that there were only 5-6 other children invited to this dreaded party!), I started icing the cake I’d baked the night before. It was round. Finn McMissile isn’t round. Thank goodness hubby suggested I surround it with liquorice so it looked vaguely like a tyre. And the finishing touch… One of Tyson’s Finn McMissile toys lovingly placed on top.
Okay, so I’m pretty sure I’d be laughed off the set of The Great Australian Bake Off but Tyson’s face said it all. He was so excited, he ran around telling anyone who’d listen: ‘I’ve got a Finn McMissile birthday cake!’ He was so proud.
Phew!
I needn’t have worried. There’s nothing like a 3 year old to remind you that life’s too short to get hung up on the things that aren’t your thing. And joy can be found in the simplest of things. Like a cake made with love. Happy Birthday beautiful boy, you’ve taught me so much over the past 3 years. Xxx
(Finn Missile is copyright by Disney/Pixar)
