Yesterday was my 55 birthday. I woke up to wonderful greetings on Facebook, phone calls , emails, presents and the promise of a wonderful trip to Paris in the spring from my husband. I spent the morning working in the Western Reserve Herb gardens and the afternoon enjoying lattes and lunch with Jim . My day felt so blessed . Later that evening we went out to dinner with my sister, her husband and my niece and nephew to my favorite restaurant in town. I drank Sazerac's and enjoyed a wonderful meal and phone calls and pictures from my son and his beautiful girlfriend who had just arrived on Southern California after a week long trip across the country... More blessings.. More gratitude for what has been and continues to be an unbelievably abundant and happy life. One of the things about birthdays though is that when both of your parents are gone there is a missing that can't be denied. My mother was a wonderful baker and every year would bake me my favorite cake that she called a Reese Roll. It is a Texas sheet cake flavored with cocoa and rolled up jelly roll style with whipped cream and covered with chocolate frosting. When my sister asked me what I wanted for my birthday, I told her that actually the only thing that I wanted was to taste that cake again. When mom died and I broke apart the house I gave Ellen the copy of our moms favorite cookbook as she's the baker and I thought she'd love it. So unbeknownst to me she cracked it open yesterday and she and Molly ( my nephews lovely wife) baked my birthday cake. We returned home from dinner and they proudly brought me the cake festooned with candles. I bit into it and swooned...it was absolutely as wonderful as I'd remembered. Then with a little impish grin my sister walked into the kitchen and brought out the old cookbook. " you need to see this Beth... The pages are all covered in chocolate" and she set it down in front of me. Right there, tucked into pages of the cookbook was a little note written by my mom to me so very long ago... So long ago that I don't even remember ever seeing it. Ellen said that the instructions left in the note were literally the things that helped her and Molly bake the cake and that it had been wonderful, as if mom had been there the whole time with them. For me, seeing my moms words..."Dear Beth....Love, Mom" was such an extraordinary gift. I really had no words. I touched the little paper for awhile , kissed it and tucked it back into the book. My sister offered it to me but it needed to stay there folded into the pages where it had been hidden for so long. Just knowing that it's there is for me the most precious secret gift of all. My mother was wonderful and she was with me on my birthday. The gratitude for having known her never stops....
Renee Kortbawi
8/27/2014 03:24:19 am
Happy Birthday ... your cake looks very delicious!
Suzanne Mitchell
8/27/2014 10:02:07 am
Aw, that's so lovely. I turned 56 on August 5th and lost my mother 33 years ago. I miss her so much and cherish her recipes. I love seeing her writing. What a great gift for you. Happy Birthday!
Polly Duncan
8/28/2014 02:15:44 am
that cake looks wonderful and I was reading quickly to see if it tasted how you remembered it. That a wonderful birthday present indeed. I am looking for your Outlander recipe book and wondering if you would ever consider sharing your mother's recipe? It sounds delicious! Thank you for sharing your story :) Comments are closed.
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Beth Schreibman GehringI am obsessed Outlander fan who is also a Freelance Writer,Lover, Foodie, Gardener, Herbalist, Mystic, Aromatherapist, Healer, Blogger and Lover of all things Fragrant.... Archives
October 2014
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