Funny story. My teenage daughter decided to make a cake-in-a-mug. We don’t own the ready-to-go mixes, she just decided that she would start from scratch, presumably with a recipe she found online. The first I knew of her culinary adventures was when she stuck her head around the corner of my office door and said, “ummmmm.”
As a parent, you probably know that when your children say “um” it can go any number of ways:
“…ummm, I can’t remember whether I have soccer training tonight or tomorrow and where my long socks would be”, or any variety of similar no-nonsense, easy to resolve confusions.
“…ummm, I feel bad for interrupting you, but could I borrow you for a minute”, usually to help with something completely random and generally harmless, but something that might also involve an hour of your time as you rearrange all the furniture in their bedroom to look for a lost school book… or to just improve the ‘vibe’.
“…ummm, I think I might have cut my finger half-off”, or something equally dramatic, presented in a casual way that is not at all aligned with the emergency at hand (pun intended).
“…ummm, I think I might have messed up” meaning, “I’ve broken something that is really special to you and you’ll probably cry when you see it”, or else, “by mess, I mean I’ve set fire to the kitchen”.
Since I started the post with “funny story” we can all take a deep breath, and rest assured no fingers or full-on-fires were involved with this story…
This is what happened:
[Image source: me… and my daughter]
If the image doesn’t appear on your reader, for whatever reason, it is the photograph of a coffee mug with the text “dream big and make magic” – only – the foil letters have caught fire in the microwave, and you can actually see the smoky trail their burning has left across the mug.
[That and some sad basil and happy rosemary in little glasses mixed up with a kangaroo paw for decoration and some groundcover clippings I’m hoping to propogate if and when they grow roots!]
My poor daughter looked very forlorn, but not one to dwell, she used the melted butter from inside the cup to top a piece of toast while I washed the cup and tried not to read too much into the potential message the universe was sending us.
I mean, magical big dreams are exactly what you want for your children, but the fact that message essentially went up in flames… means what?
I’ve written before about the revelations I gained from the happy face in my kitchen sink (here), but what am I to make of a burning magical dream?
Can we just say the flames were the magic – a lesson to be learnt? I mean, who knew metallic letters were metallic enough to self-combust and potentially destroy the microwave?
Probably most of us.
[If you didn’t now, here’s some clarification from KitchenPearls.com: “It’s important to note that not all metal materials are created equal. Some metals, such as aluminum foil or gold or silver plating on your cup, can cause […] significant issues in the microwave. Aluminum foil can cause intense arcing and may even cause fires. Similarly, gold or silver plating can melt and cause damage to the microwave.”]
So then – we got off lightly!
Minor damage to the cup, no microwave explosions or kitchen fires… maybe that’s the magic of the moment?
Anyway – since I also don’t want to dwell on the bad, and prefer to turn instead to buttery-toast-goodness, here’s 5 quotes about big dreams that you can carry into the upcoming weekend, curtesy of The Readers Digest:
“Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and power and magic in it.” – Goethe
“All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.” – Walt Disney
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable.” – Christopher Reeve
“Dreams are the touchstones of our character.” – Henry David Thoreau
Take care taking care, dreamily, magically… and safely, Linda xox
The Mindful Migraine 
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