Cake & Friendship

Travel back with me to Dumont, when I was a teen. It was my birthday and it was snowy, so when Moey stopped by that year, she came to the garage door--the front steps must have been unsafe or unshoveled.

The cable the garage door ran on as I pulled it up struggled and creaked. But then it was open, and there Moey stood with a chocolate cake made from one of those Betty Crocker or Pillsbury mixes that came with a small cardboard pan to bake it in. I was surprised, and touched.

Moey has an August birthday, and loves cheesecake. I made her Bisquick cheesecake pies in college and later graduated to deluxe Ed's Cheesecake.

Tonight, it's another snowy January day and I am far from a teenager--yet sometimes still feel like one at heart. Moey and Ted took me and H. out for a delicious dinner at Bonefish Grill near Paramus Park, the mall she and I frequented with our friends as teens.

All these years later, my hair is colored to cover the gray, I have a frown crease on my forehead and I've known life's ups and downs way more than that teen at the garage door. But I still saw Moey by my side, saw her kind blue eyes, heard her sing Happy Birthday as I made a wish over a chocolate dessert on the house.

Age does have its perks.

TCOY

1. Spent a lot of time out in snow with Punch, Sug and neighbor children. They were all sledding. Nature is exhilarating.

2. Going out for dinner was TCOY. Had to call three sitters to arrange it.

3. We got home before 9. Punch was tired from all that sledding. She went to sleep in a flash and we are in living room enjoying fire in hearth. It's crackling and smells toasty.