The little girl looked at the clock on the wall..five minutes to midnight.

Her parents should be home anytime now..
it was her first attempt at making a cake
it was her parent's anniversary and she wanted to
show them how much she loved them.
She had worked diligently..3 hours..carefully following
the recipe instructions...however, the kitchen was in
complete shambles...flour everywhere, butter, cake frosting...
but alas...she completed the task...
while the cake was slightly tilted...
in her eyes it was a grand masterpiece!!..



Finally, she saw a flash of headlights in the driveway
She ran and hid in the kitchen...ready to explode with anticipation..
The door opened at last...she flipped on the lights and
and yelled from her heart..."Surprise...."

However, her mother's eyes did not make it to the
table where the masterpiece awaited...
The mother started hollaring..."Just look at this mess!!!"

The mother stormed off to bed...the girl's father...
aware of the love that had gone into
the surprise, held his daughter tightly
as she wept...Daddy...she never even saw the cake..



How many times in life, as parents or otherwise,
have we not taken the time to appreciate
the little things in life?

We are teaching the world each day...
that means there are times when we really need to see
the MESS in the kitchen...
And times when we only need to see the CAKE...