Early Birthday Cake

This past weekend, Sean’s parents (Barbara and Ted) visited.  Barbara surprised me by presenting Sean and I with a homemade co-birthday cake.  If I thought about it, I would have expected a cake for Sean.  His birthday was in January.  But I would never have expected cake honors for me– my birthday is still over a month away! 

Happy Birthdays, Sean & Vicky

Turns out, Barbara’s gesture was even more thoughtful than it appeared! 

“I checked the calendar and Lent hadn’t started yet,” she said.

Smart lady.  I may not attend Mass every Sunday (or…ahem…every month), but one thing I am religious about is Lent.  I won’t eat meat on Fridays and each year I pick something to give up.  I’m actually quite fond of the exercise.  Quote from an email to Ryan Somma during last year’s Lent:

…I get the opportunity for a similar affirmation each year. It’s called Lent. I used it to test my resilience to my own addictions—most notably TV and desserts. I appreciate the trials I give myself and find pride in my successes. Truth be told, I look forward to Lent and discovering will power I didn’t even know I had.

The most common item I give up is desserts.  As a non-smoker and a pretty rare drinker (wine during football games is about it), my biggest weakness is desserts.  Even when I give up something else, desserts usually earn a spot on the list as well.  For example last year, I gave up beef and desserts.  One year I gave up desserts… and credit cards.  

Anyway, since my birthday always falls during Lent, I haven’t had a birthday cake for quite some time.***  I don’t even remember the last time I ate a birthday cake for me.  So it was a very nice and thoughtful treat Barbara provided me!

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***This isn’t to say I don’t get special birthday treats.  I am very lucky to have supportive (and creative!) friends.  Last year, Meredith Webber threw me a birthday dinner.  The dinner fell on a Friday so she made a vegetarian lasagna.  Instead of a dessert, Tony Airaghi provided some freshly sliced mangos.  They were just as fulfilling as any cake!  And each year for my birthday, Ana Sanchez makes me a batch of her divine taco salad (it is DELICIOUS!!!).  Last year, she thoughtfully made her recipe with ground turkey to accomodate my beef restriction.  With friends like this, who needs cake?

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