Sweet baby shower cake and thoughts on creating while stressed

I just wanted to share with you a simple 9-inch baby shower cake that I was commissioned to bake last week for a coworkers shower (yup, she’s having a girl!). It’s a vanilla cake, filled with a mocha hazelnut buttercream filling and frosted with an almond vanilla buttercream, tinted pink, of course.

I made this cake the day I found out my sweet kitty boy Apollo needed additional oral surgery, and that he’s FIV+. We had already spent close to 2 days with him not eating, and by Wednesday morning his lack of energy (which is usually boundless) was really beginning to scare us both. Luckily for us, the vet could see him that morning, and by 1:30 we had the diagnosis, pain meds and appetite stimulants, and an appointment for the surgery, which is today.

The meds definitely helped him over the course of the long weekend, and by yesterday he was eating normally and acting like the orange tabby he is. Ray took him in for the surgery this morning, and we should be getting our sweet bundle of fuzz back this evening.

And yet, throughout all that stress and worry (including a horrible sobbing fit in the shower), I managed to make something beautiful. I didn’t want to. By 8:00 that night I was done with the world, let alone cakes and buttercream. But I pushed through, and that is an achievement … and something we all can do, no matter the stressor or the project. It’s not easy, but when you can manage, it helps.