Thursday, February 4, 2010

well, you don't have to get all red in the face about it.......

Today I needed to get rid of some bananas cause they were going bad. I told May and Z we were going to have Home Ec. class today and they were going to bake something with those bananas.

May jumped on it. I didn't see Z till dinner or something.

She decided to make a Hummingbird Cake.

So I was helping her gather all her supplies and measure out this and that so it would all be at her fingertips. I figured once she got it all together it would rock & roll along a bit easier. So I was instructing her a little here and there about things in the recipe that would make her life easier. She wasn't having it.

She fully intended to make the cake HERSELF, without my help at all. I tried to explain to her that even dang Emeril had an instructor once.

I was trying to explain to her about beating the eggs prior to putting them into the mix....she was tuning me out. So I asked her again, "Are you going to beat those eggs first?"

M- I said yes

A- ....with a fork or just let the blender do it once you dump them in?

M- with the BLENDER!

A- Fine....you're supposed to do it with a fork and let them rest a bit before you dump them.

M- oh.

So she is him-hawing around playing with eggs likes she might hurt them if she moves the fork around too quickly. It occurred to me she may not fully understand how to beat the eggs, so I nicely walked up beside her and showed her how to tip the bowl diagonally a bit and the with the wrist, move the fork.

M- Fine...you just do it...

A- No, its your cake you do it, I just wanted to show you how to beat them so you would know in the future...

M- No, do it......

A- No.

I move away from her to get her a stick and a half of butter, cause I am gettin the vibe she wants to rip my hair out or something and I'm kinda scared.

I was going to cut the stick of butter in half with a fairly sharp knife, which she would normally hate to pick up from the dishwasher. May tells me, all red in the face, that she wants to do it, the whole cake, by herself.

A- Fine! I am done then, do it yourself.

I go to take a shower and just forget it. She does know how to read and whatever happens, happens. I am thinking of the pineapples. I know the can is significantly more than she needs, I am hoping she'll not dump the whole big can into the mix. I tell myself to forget it and let her handle it.

The bathroom door opens...

M- Mom, when you get out can you chop the pecans for me?

A- No, May, It's YOUR cake, you do it YOUR self.

M- I can't I'm not strong enough to use the chopper thing

A- Well...figure it out May its YOUR cake

....the door shut......I was so stinkin aggravated with her and myself cause I just wanted to be there to help with clean up and available for quick reference if she needed it....and she totally blew me off.

I knew she couldn't do the chopper cause it does take a lot of effort.....and she's......skinny & tiny boned.....unlike her momma.

I hollered loudly from the shower to get her attention to come back into the bathroom, cause I felt guilty for being snide.

M- What? (one eyebrow up)

A- I will chop the pecans for you when I get out.....

M- Okay.....(brow relaxes)

...then she goes on to ask me about the pineapples while slamming the recipe on the shower door for me to look at, which relieves me.

I did chop the nuts for her when I got out and that was all I did. I tried to stay out of her way as I knew she was in fact a competent cook when she tries.

When she was done and the cake was in the oven....we were finishing the clean up.

M- Mom, thanks for chopping the nuts and helping me.

A- Your welcome.

In that moment I could see the me in her come out. Her actions so mimicked mine, I loved her.

I loved that she wasn't to prideful to say "thank you."

It's cool to see the things that make them who they are, little things in the the way they move, or talk, their actions, and facial expressions....their character....

It's always cool when it spills out of them when I least expect it.

The cake turned out great. She put an excellent cream cheese frosting on the top that had some left over powdered up pecans mixed into it. DELICIOUS!

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