Lessons from Betty Crocker and Grandma Janet

Leah is four going on fourteen. She thinks she can do anything her brother or older cousins can do. So, on Saturday evening Leah came to my house and we baked a cake. It’s something I try and do with each of my grandmunchkins. Little did Leah know that it was part of the growing up process with Grandma Janet.

We were making a Banana Pudding Poke Cake for our Family Sunday Dinner.

We began with a yellow cake mix. As Leah poured the dry ingredients into the mixing bowl she spilled some on the counter. Uh oh. I reassured sure her making a mess was part of the process and it was okay. We just cleaned it up. I told her that even Grandma makes messes.

Next, we cracked three eggs. We had to dig out a few shells from the yolks. Another, that’s okay.

We measured the other ingredients into the bowl. Then Leah had the fun of helping Grandma use the electric mixer. When we had everything mixed together and poured into the baking pan, I handed Leah the metal beaters. I told her this was the best part, licking the beaters. It was a reward for doing a good job. She held both beaters and would lick one and then the other.

I realized she had Juicy Fruit Gum in her mouth as she finished cleaning off the batter with her tongue. That girl does love chewing gum.

Leah sat in front of the oven and watched the cake rise and was so excited when the timer went off. “Grandma, we can have cake now!”

I told her that it had to cool and we had other things to add to the top. Banana pudding mix, bananas, Cool Whip and Crushed vanilla wafers.

She was so disappointed. She wanted to sample her creation right then. I told her that it was for the family Sunday dinner and we needed to wait.

Leah’s lower lip puckered. “But Grandma I need to try it now.” So what did Grandma Janet do? She cut her a piece. And then I cut her another.

Did it really matter that a few pieces were missing on Sunday? No. There were three pieces missing. Grand Chuck walked into the kitchen and said, “Well can I have a piece?” Leah looked and me and I smiled and said, “Well of course you can, if it’s okay with Leah.” She said, “Grand Chuck, it’s really good.”

On Sunday Leah helped me finish with the toppings and I announced to everyone that Leah had made the cake. Leah’s eyes glistened with pride.

She had made her first cake. It was just another memory made with Grandma Janet.

A simple cake. Many lessons learned.

It’s okay to make a mess. You just have to clean it up. Everything has a process. You have to follow the directions on the box and do what Grandma Janet and Betty Crocker tell you to do. Patience is part of the process. There will be a reward when you help and when you wait.

Sometimes the reward is really sweet. Cake batter tastes just as good as the finished product.

Time with your Grandma is a Kodak Moment. I want my grandmunchkins to have lots of “remember when?”

So what if it takes longer to do something. So what if messes are made. So what if the cake is missing a few pieces.

It’s just so much fun and a sweet memory for Leah. She has no idea what all she learned that evening.

And some of you have a new recipe to make.