Let me share a parenting recipe for success: When your kids mess up, look on the lighter side. Boy, I gave my parents plenty of reasons to look on the lighter side. I think you’ll enjoy this one classic “I Love Lucy”-style moment that spurred my mother to grin.

Going to Town with Crisco^®

I must have been about four years old (let’s say I was way too young to know any better), and I wanted to help my mom bake a cake. Mom was gracious in letting me lend her a hand in the kitchen. As Mom pulled out her white stand mixer, she directed me, “Okay, Beth, you grease and flour the pan.”

At the kitchen table, I went to town with the can of Crisco^® and bag of Gold Medal^® flour. I enthusiastically applied elbow grease to the thick, white grease, er, all-vegetable shortening. I slathered the ole thick aluminum cake pan well. Next, I dusted on a generous volume of flour, carefully shaking off the extras onto the table. Viola! Done.

When Mom finished up with the mixer, she turned to find me beaming at my strategic role in baking prep. But wait. Apparently, I committed my first-ever culinary mistake. I had greased and floured the outside of the pan. Ooops!

Mom didn’t get upset or scold me for my creative baking skills. I simply remember some light-hearted chuckles and mom washing the pan and letting me try again.

We All Mess Up Here and There

Maybe that first baking error is why I appreciate do-overs and the lighter side of life. We all mess up here and there in life. And we all deserve the kind of parents, teachers, bosses, mentors and friends who roll with our mistakes and gently coach us to try again.

Mother’s Day is fast approaching and I’m thinking my mom will probably be busy in one of heaven’s colossal kitchens. She may be making her infamous Party Cookies with loads of M&Ms. Or her German Chocolate Cheese brownies swirled throughout with cream cheese. Perhaps she’ll wow the angels with her mega-yummy Tuna Bun Spread (this is her original recipe card for those toasty tuna treats).

While she’s bustling around the kitchen, Mom undoubtedly will retell the time I greased and floured the outside of the cake pan. I’m good with that. Mom knows I turned out to be a fairly decent cook and I definitely know how to chuckle at my goofy mistakes. And I’m continuing to learn to pick myself up and move onward after some of my more weighty blunders.

Thanks, Mom, for modeling “When your kids mess up, look on the lighter side.” Should we tell everyone about the time I put some aluminum foil in the microwave?

P.S. Here’s a fun parenting recipe for success tip I found online.* We’re welcome. 🙂