Valentine’s Surprise

Valentine’s celebrations turned out differently than expected last week.
Monday I made heart-shaped Italian cream cakes and stuck them in the freezer, trying to follow the “freeze before frosting” technique. Tuesday, my cream cheese frosting gathered up cake crumbs like a new vacuum cleaner.
I smoothed as best I could, stuck the cake back in the freezer and planned to fix it later.
I never did. Friday morning, as I prepared to head for work, I looked around frantically for something to take to the company Valentine party and grabbed the crummy cake out of the freezer.
Italian cream cake lovers ate it joyfully – graciously overlooking my flawed frosting.
That made my day – as did the request to baby-sit my grandchildren while their parents attended an impromptu farewell party for the technical support staff at the Wesley Clark national headquarters in Little Rock. For a few brief months, my son had spun his computer magic with them until Clark stepped out of the race.
As I dragged cake plate and left-overs into the house, three bouncing grandchildren greeted me. I had my favorite type of company on a festive weekend but no heart-shaped cake.
They pulled out toys, crafts and games. I pulled out heart-shaped cake pans, mixer and recipes. The toys waited. The children, my husband, an exchange student and I cleaned and grated carrots in sugar; plumped raisins, browned butter, toasted nuts and measured out dry ingredients for carrot cake.
The cake turned out golden brown, moist and in a perfect heart shape. I skipped freezing the cake and went straight to whipping up another batch of cream cheese frosting which spread without gathering any crumbs. To celebrate we sat down and watched the movie Peter Pan.
Early the next morning, the children wandered out bright eyed, ready for an adventure. My husband suggested we have a Dr. Seuss special: Green eggs and ham for breakfast.
“I do not like green eggs and ham,” one of the children said.
“It’s just green food coloring on eggs and ham … see,” I blotted a slice of ham with St. Patrick’s Day green food coloring.
They ate green eggs and ham. They liked them. They liked green eggs and ham.
Afterwards we honored St. Valentine tracing, cutting and decorating pink hearts for their parents. The littlest smeared glue and shook sparkles on to construction paper hearts. Her brother chose pre-cut cars, trains and planes. Big sister, showed me how she could cut out perfect, pink hearts.
After a tea party lunch they napped. When their parents called to say they were on their way, I looked at the clock and invited them to stay for the Valentine’s dinner we had planned.
They came – as did the snow. We set the table with china and napkins and feasted royally while fluffy snowflakes piled up outside. I stuck red candles on in the heart-shaped carrot cake and we sang “Happy Valentine’s Day to us” – followed with an explanation to the exchange students that the song was not traditional.
Then they cleared out of the house to celebrate the children’s and their momma’s first ever snow with big snow ball fights, little snow men and not too much cold. They piled into their mini-van wrapped in blankets and started to go home, but snow flurries and snowy roads obliterated the road lines and sent them back to sleep at our house.
The children slept; the adults chatted.
The next day, clear roads took them safely home with visions of Valentine fun and snow dancing in their heads.
(Joan Hershberger is a reporter at the News-Times.)