Mother’s Day: Don’t forget to ice the cake
I know everyone has the best of intentions on Mother’s Day. Everyone wants to treat their mom like the queen she is on this special day. But, as a mom, can I give you a piece of advice? Stop serving your mom cake without the icing. Stop giving her a dry, crumbly dessert that she needs to wash down with a glass of water. On May 9th, go all the way! Serve your mom a delicious, moist chocolate layer cake with vanilla cream icing slathered all over it. Because, I’m sorry to say, sometimes those ‘best of intentions’ just aren’t enough.
Hear me out. I’m not here to bash anyone or slam their grand Mother’s Day gestures. All I’m asking is that you follow through; finish the game, don’t collapse 15 feet from the finish line. In other words, don’t forget to ice the cake.
If you offer to clean the house for your mom for Mother’s Day, then clean the house. And that includes putting away the cleaning supplies when you’re done. Don’t leave the vacuum in the living room. Don’t leave a pile of clean laundry on the bed. Don’t leave dishes soaking in the sink. Put the vacuum in the closet, fold the laundry and put it away, scrub those dishes. And I’ll give you a tip: if you are running short on time and you’re not going to be able to finish folding all the laundry, put it back in the dryer. It won’t be done, but at least your mom won’t see a half finished chore when she walks into her bedroom. Starting the chores: a red velvet cake. Finishing the chores: a red velvet cake covered in a delicious, rich cream cheese frosting.
If you offer to make dinner or the school lunches for the next day, please remember that the job isn’t done when the oven buzzer goes off or when the sandwiches get placed into the lunch kits. The job is done when the leftover cucumber is back in the fridge, the bread twist tie is back on the bread bag and the counters have been wiped. The school lunch is the cake; the cleanup is the icing.
If you make your mom a heart-warming, tear-inducing card that declares she is the best mom in the world and no one is better and your life is nothing without her… well, that’s wonderful. That’s the cake. Now make sure you ice the cake and put away all your art supplies! Wipe up the glue, clean up the glitter (oh the glitter) and recycle the leftover paper. That’s the icing.
If you hand your mom a gift to unwrap, go that extra mile and put the wrapping paper in the recycling bin for her. If you bring her breakfast in bed, please take the dishes down to the kitchen for her when she’s done eating. If she wants to relax and enjoy a quiet bath, please don’t bang on the door and ask her where your socks are.
This Mother’s Day, please ice the cake. Give your mom the cake of her dreams topped with the sweetest icing she will ever taste. And if your mom says “That’s okay, I don’t like icing…”
She’s lying. Everyone loves icing.
Amy Beeman is mom to twins Sam and Lucy. She is also a VM Top 30 Blogger, Leading Moms speaker and radio personality.
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