Happy Birthday Cake Pops

My birthday was last week and I got some awesome gifts, cards, phone calls, text messages, and facebook messages from thoughtful family and friends. They sure do know how to make a girl feel special. I've always loved my birthday and though I'm normally not one for being the center of attention, on my birthday I do enjoy all the attention!

David knows how important my birthday is to me, especially after forgetting it several years ago. Before he left for school, he hadn't wished me happy birthday yet, so I said, "You know what today is?" and he replied, "Jeans day!" because it was on a Friday and he got to wear jeans to school. I didn't say anything, I just let it go until later that night when he profusely apologized. I forgave him, and it's a great thing to hold above his head every now and then :)

On my birthday this year, he had to work at the basketball game concession stand after school, so he didn't make it home until about 9pm that night. I heard his car pull up in the driveway and he was taking longer than usual to make his way inside. I had a feeling that he had something special for me, so I waited impatiently. He rang the doorbell and I knew something was going on. I opened the door and he came in, got down on one knee, and handed me these.

"Happy Bday Tabes" - Tabes is his nickname for me :)

I immediately started to cry, because I remembered the week before when he told me he needed a dozen eggs to take to school. I didn't ask any questions, just made sure he had the eggs before he headed out that morning and I forgot about it. But I instantly made the connection that he had given our eggs to the person who was making the cake pops for me (his superintendent's wife, Carmel, who recently started up her catering business Carmel's Creations). He knows that I don't like to eat anything made with animal products unless I know exactly where the animal products came from, so he was in cahoots with Carmel to make these cake pops with ingredients that I would feel totally ok with. She also made them as low in sugar as possible and ordered in special ingredients just for my cake pops. Apparently they had been in talks for quite a while over my delicious birthday gift!

Then, after giving me the cake pops and while I was a blubbering mess (to my defense, I had watched a sad tv show right before he got home), he stayed down on one knee and read a poem that he had written for me earlier that day. The blubbering continued.

I felt so special that he went out of his way to arrange for a gift that truly fit me and what I love. I often feel out of place when it comes to food since I don't eat meat and don't like to eat eggs unless they come from our own chickens so I know for sure that no animals were mistreated in the making of my food. It always makes me feel so loved when my family and friends go out of their way to make special vegan or animal-friendly versions of my favorite treats so that I can eat them with a clear conscience.

I'd say after this birthday, David has totally made up for the "jeans day" debacle!

~Tammy

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