The un-birthday birthday cake

Grandma Dar turns eighty tomorrow. When my father expressed intent to go an purchase a cake for her and have all her kids over to the house for cake  I offered to bake it instead of buying it, fresher, healthier and all around better.

I walked into my parents kitchen this evening  after work and my mother's greeted me as normal.

"How was work?" 

"It was work." I sounded snippy and short even though I didn't mean to.

"Birthday is off."

"What?" I never really know what my mom is talking about. I love her but she speaks a language all of her own never prefacing statements, never giving background just jumping in.

"Cristy, I wasn't going to tell her." My dad said as he entered the room.

"What are you guys talking about?" 

"Grandma Dar had a hard night last night and doesn't think she'll be up to it tomorrow, but your dad still wants you to bake the cake if you want."

So here I am in a recently vacated kitchen after two of my brothers, my sister, my sister-in-law, my parents and I made ourselves some "kitchen sink pizzas" for dinner (translation homemade pizzas with whatever the refrigerator had in it).  Here I am alone in the kitchen baking with Christmas music in the background. Baking German chocolate cake. I like the me time, the moments were it's just me and a recipe. Folding in the beat egg whites and making a caramel and coconut drizzle frosting on the stove top.

I am not a  Suzy house maker. I'm a feminist to the core, but I like to work in the kitchen. I don't think that a woman's place is in the kitchen. Her place should be wherever she wants it to be, but I do think everyone should know their way around a kitchen. Thanksgiving morning my brother came over to my parents house early, we had pumpkin spice cookies on the counter and immediately he assumed it had been me that made them. I quickly corrected him, informing him that Laura had "baked" them. He asked me three times "Our sister Laura? Laura baked them not you? Mom didn't help?" He was completely flummoxed until he found the tub of premade dough in the fridge. Not everyone can follow a recipe, and most people can't even start a wood fire, including my eighteen year old sister. I just hope the end of the world as we know it doesn't come about. Because there will be a lot of hungry people wandering around without restaurants and TV dinners.