Cake is Always the Answer

I arrived at my mother’s yesterday afternoon to pick up my children after work.  I am lucky that she is able to watch them three days a week, so I don’t have the total expense of day care.  I walked in the door, smiling and happy to see my two beautiful children. 

My daughter ran up to me, looked up at my face, and gave me a great big smile.  Something was definitely different about her though.

“Mom, did you cut Emily’s hair?” I asked.

“Uhm, Emily made me do it!  She said she wanted that,” my mom returned, blaming my two year old toddler for the very crooked set of bangs that now graced her forehead.

She's still her Momma's smart, gorgeous girl!

“What happened here?” I asked.

My mother explained that she has been stressed and got distracted.   When the troubles were at their height earlier in the week, she scrubbed the floors on hands and knees and baked a homemade German Chocolate cake. This is how my mother copes -- busying herself with tasks and chores around the home to keep her mind off whatever currently has her under duress.  I understand that her stess load is enormous right now; trust that I do. However, I wanted to scream at her that chopping off my daughter’s lovely blonde locks was not the ultimate stress reliever.  “More cake, Mom! No haircuts!” 

But, my daughter is impossibly adorable in my eyes, and her hair will grow back, so instead I just took it in stride and laughed at my mother as she continued her attempts to defend herself.  “I knew you would probably be pissed because it’s crooked, so I told Emily I was going to blame it on her.  I thought about trying to fix it, but I was scared I would only make it worse and too short.  So, I said, ‘Emily, when your mom gets here, I’m telling her this was all your idea.’ Are you pissed, Angela?”

“No, mom, she’s still cute.  It’s okay,” I answered.  It’s only bangs, and we have to pick our battles.  I didn’t raise my sword to answer her scissors.  I am trying not to “sweat the small stuff.”  But I declare that cake should always be the answer to her stress.  More cake, Mom! More cake!