My Beautiful Daughter got engaged! Yay!
Not five minutes after being permitted to send out the announcement, she and I both began receiving questions.
Perfectly ordinary questions for someone from my generation, mind you.
- Have they set a date?
- Are they having an engagement party?
- Will you be making the cake?
- Will it be a large wedding?
I can think of other questions that could be asked, too. Like, are they setting up a registry, are they picking a pattern, what do they need, where will they reside...
But alas, my Beautiful Daughter and her Handsome Intended are not of my generation, nor of my lifestyle. They are both actors - and before you sniff at this, please bear in mind that her "rock" is twice the size of mine, so he's doing something right! (besides marrying her, of course) - and they are living currently in what's called an "Air B&B" in Vancouver.
I had to have her explain to me what an "Air B&B" is. It's where people who are away from their homes for a period of time make it available for rent to strangers, on the internet.
Apparently there is some sort of background check when you sign up for this, but I personally find it a bit creepy. However, I am informed that I am backward and fearful. Young minds, fresh ideas, etc!
At any rate, they will be living in sub-letted spaces for the next two years. They sold, gave away, or stored all their possessions except for two suitcases which they took to Vancouver.
So, no, they haven't "picked a pattern."
Beautiful Daughter, on hearing the host of questions thrown her way five minutes after they announced their engagement, said "Can you give me a few days to admire my ring?"
And of course, since I've been a wedding cake decorator for half my life and am one of three people in the known universe who does Australian Lace wedding cakes, it's been expected by all that I will do my Daughter's cake.
Only one problem. Daughter and Intended are vegans.
No eggs.
Egg whites figure prominently in Royal Icing, a key ingredient in Australian Lace decorating.
Oh.
It's not that I can't learn a new process, it's that the last 30 years of accumulated knowledge and skill have now been thrown out the window.
My anguish is something every parent comes to know at some point: just when you think you know something, your kids knock you down with a curve ball, and you have to start all over.
Then there's the vanity factor - and let's not pretend this isn't happening to me! Being one of three people in the world who can do Australian Lace cakes, I happen to know that my skills are fit for royalty.
Can I repeat that? R-O-Y-A-L-T-Y.
Would you ask a Michelin Chef to make you twinkies?
So yes, there is a bit of wounded pride going on here! Not that I can't get over myself, but yes, this happens to be one thing I can do really well and I've been dreaming of doing for her since the day she was born, and every cake I've ever made prior to this point has been just practise for this glorious event...
(Let's cool the violins, shall we?)
Well, I could buy a bunch of new products ($$$$$) and do a bunch of baking and decorating experiments ($$$$$) till I have a vague notion of what I'm doing.
I could do a "dummy" cake - which is merely a decorative piece to be set up and look pretty on the table. Perfectly respectable. Can be worked on years in advance. Lots of advantages to this!
I could do each tier in a different cake for folks who enjoy different stuff.
I could even let them start doing some research into the cost of wedding cakes themselves. (I do, I must admit, get a little chuckle out of this idea, since I know how much they cost and the kids are absolutely clueless... Every former bride out there knows what I mean! Last time I checked, it was around $4 per serving...)
But I think for now I may just get off this whirlwind. Practise a little zen-like "letting go." See what turns up.
I guess I'll just go cut the grass.
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