If you come into my house on any given afternoon, you might enter to the smell of muffins in the oven. The muffins will then go to the cooling rack before piling in a jar, before being distributed between snack plates, lunch bags, and out to friends. Today muffins, but tomorrow could be cupcakes or cookies. One might ask how I manage to find the time to bake while running after two small children, and the answer is this: it's a necessity.
This year I have had the pleasure of becoming new friends with another mom at Twig's school who shares the same hobby (the nice way of saying healthy addiction.) Together we have discovered why we love to bake. It allows us to have control over something creative in our lives. In the daily mix of early morning wake ups, school drop off and pick-ups, after school activities and little time left for me, I feel like this is an area where I can decide how I want something to look and what I want it to taste like and most times if I get the chemistry of it down the outcome is foolproof.
I recently heard someone say that outcomes are so important for adults but that small children (I am assuming under the age of 3 because my 5 your old wouldn't stand for unfinished business) don't need to complete things to feel they have accomplished a task. Well, I stand with my five year old on this. It bothers me when I can't check enough of my list off. I like the "end of an errand" feeling. When most days I don't dictate how much I get done, I know that at least what I do get done will taste pleasing, even to the most unappreciative group of young-ins.
After I finished writing this, I took a batch of muffins out of the oven. The only people eating them today will be me, along with my words. They were as bland as could be. I couldn't figure it out until I saw on the counter the measuring cup still filled with sugar. Perhaps, a little more focus would be handy when baking. Always room for improvement!
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