Frosting on My Cake

Published on by Marilyn

It was a surprise yesterday to find out I was highlighted by WordPress as  one of the WordPress.com Bloggers Who Covered the Biggest News Stories of 2011. The piece wasn’t my best post and definitely not my best writing, but it was written during the January 25th uprising in Cairo and detailed a more personal overview than was available through news sources.  I had a birds eye view through Annie, my daughter who is living and studying in Egypt and has been there the last three years. Annie lives a block from Tahrir Square.

The honor was frosting on my cake. Think about cake for a minute. Good cake is moist and rich and tasty. Whether carrot cake, filled with walnuts, pineapple and coconut, red velvet, zucchini chocolate chip or chocolate, cake has a rich blend of flavors that satisfy. Sliced up and served with a cup of your favorite hot drink, you sit and savor the taste, you don’t want it to end. The frosting is great, but the cake is what satisfies.

It’s a good description of what this has been like for me. Being selected from hundreds of thousands of blogs was frosting. It’s great and I am excited, but the cake is that I have been able to write everyday, and learn in the process. Here’s a secret – I have never been able to do anything everyday for a year. Knowing I have been able to write daily is my cake, my thick rich blueberry carrot cake (stay tuned for the recipe from my mom!). It tastes good and it satisfies. The frosting is great too, especially if it’s cream cheese. To be sure I like frosting on my cake, but I know too much frosting makes for a sugary sweet aftertaste and will have me wilting under a sugar high.

Some people don’t like the frosting at all, they scrape it off to the side and it ends up in the garbage. I am not one of those people. I love frosting. I love words of affirmation. I love praise. I love comments. But I also love that even when they don’t come, I’m learning to continue the discipline of writing, making a cake as it were, giving it to God as it bakes, then feeling satisfied with the outcome –  the piece of cake that has no frosting.

So thank you – for allowing me to indulge in a bit of self-reflection and analysis. Thank you too, that way before the frosting came, you supported the cake!

So what’s the cake in your life? What do you love to do?  And when you get affirmation for it? Well that’s just frosting. 

Enhanced by Zemanta

Discover more from Marilyn R. Gardner

Subscribe to get the latest posts to your email.

14 thoughts on “Frosting on My Cake”

  2. I am so proud that this experience has been so rich for you. It is a gift from God to do something DAILY, to commit and know that you are doing this not to move you forward in a job or in parenting, but to move forward for YOU, to put your important, amazing thoughts down and to look at it and say that it was for the FUN of it and the thrill of it. I am so proud of your cake, and you deserve that yummy icing on top!

    Like

    Reply

    1. Thank you so very much for commenting and congratulating! I know we joke a lot about my blogging and I can get annoying so it is so fun to have this comment. I’ll keep making cake, your comments are the frosting!

      Like

      Reply

  3. Love your analogy Marilyn and congratulations!! That’s some lovely frosting! I’d say cake is nice but without the frosting, something is missing and similarly frosting with no cake is sickly and unsatisfying!! :)

    Hmmm my cake? I’d have to say (sounds cliched but its true) is God. Can’t do without him. After that, the family and then things like blogging, sewing, learning. They are the things that satisfy me and make life enjoyable. I’m also a words of encouragement girl so those things are my frosting but travel is also a lovely lovely essential frosting.

    Like

    Reply

    1. Sophie – I missed this comment! so sorry – And I have to say – yes cake is better with frosting! But you’re not cliched to say God – It’s his creative spirit that is the motivational drive. Thanks for the reminder.

      Like

      Reply

    1. Denny – your words were frosting this morning! Thanks for reading and being willing to comment. It’s comments like this that make me say, “Ok, I’ll give it another go!”

      Like

      Reply

  5. Mega congratulations, my dear blogging friend! Your writing is such a wonderful balance between intelligent analysis and heart-filled reflection. Your posts on Cairo and the first-hand descriptions from Annie were a precious window into the reality of those days. You deserve each and every affirmation! You go girl!!! (And, no, I don`t plan to answer your question. This is your moment to enjoy the frosting. And for us to enjoy it with you!!!) :-)

    Like

    Reply

  6. Congratulations, Marilyn! You deserve it. I know i wondered how you would be able to write something every day – not that I doubted your abilities. but I know how busy you are, and constantly pulled in many directions.
    For me I think one of the “cakes” I love is knowing that your Dad and I so filled with our human flaws have produced such amazing children who continue to give us joy in the lives they are living for the glory of God and the work each of you are doing in the world. Please don’t think I’m taking credit for it – there have been too many other people who have had input into your lives, not to mention all my wonderful daughters-in-law, and of course, my favorite son-in-law. All glory truly goes to God. The frosting? It’s when you get recognition for what you are doing. And as a Mom, my parting shot, “Don’t let it go to your head!” Love you much.

    Like

    Reply

    1. Ha – loved the parting shot! It’s your right as a mom. But in blogging one day you can get a bunch of views and comments and the next day none, so it’s easy to recognize that if you are going just for readers and comments you won’t last long! Thanks for answering the question – but I think you can take credit :)

      Like

      Reply

Add to the discussion...