Recent years of heightened chaos and hectic frenzy have left me feeling the need for a more mindful, controlled way of living, including remembering the purpose and importance of what I’m doing, when I’m doing it - whether it be playing with my children or working on a specific task. In the Mindful Monday posts, I try to share a moment or something I’ve learned, experienced or tried in the journey to becoming a more mindful person or parent.

For instance, this past weekend, I co-hosted a baby shower for a good friend. This wasn’t her first baby shower. Technically, we were throwing this soon-to-be mother of three a little “sprinkle,” in honor of her first girl. We didn’t have to throw her the shower, but wanted to celebrate the upcoming female addition to her brood and have an excuse to gift her teeny tiny tutus and throw an all out pink affair.

Naturally, this sprinkle required a pretty cake featuring lovely gradated shades of pink. Four layers, fading seamlessly from hot pink to bright pink to light pink to cream.

Two days before the party, I had perfected the shades of cake batter and set to baking. I only had two rounds of the same size, so had to bake in batches. While the bright pink was cooling on a rack, I attempted to move it to a counter space farther away from the hot oven to speed the cooling process.

I picked up the rack, swiveled, and *bump* hit the edge of the rack against the fridge and *splat* went that perfectly hued layer!

If this were the last party I planned (Sam’s pirate themed first birthday party), I would have gone what can only be described as worst-case bridezilla and had a meltdown. This time around, though, I laughed. Well actually, I gasped first, then I laughed. And then I took a photo with my iPhone to document the hysterical moment for my co-hosts who were on their way to help decorate the cake.

The difference between the cake disaster for Sam’s party and this one? I remembered in that split second the beautifully pinked layer tumbled to a pile of crumbs why we were making the cake in the first place. Because we love our friend. Because we are overjoyed she is having a little girl. Because we love pink and we love to party.

Not because we have to bake it. Not because we have to celebrate.

But because we are choosing to celebrate our friend, her baby and her family, and because we choose to place importance on the occasion.

The cake wasn’t life or death. (Something I wish I had reminded myself of in the moment the treasure chest cake smashed in transit to the park party venue).

So our cake wasn’t four “perfect” shades as we had planned. In fact, we abandoned the whole gradated idea in the end based on the consistency of the final baked layers. But I think it turned out just fine.

Don’t you?

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Chrissy – who has written 422 posts on The Outlaw Mom® Blog - Creative Living in a Conventional World.

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