By Almost March. The crocuses in Mrs. Patterson's yard are pushing up — purple and yellow, stubborn little flowers that don't care that it's still 40 degrees. They come up anyway. They bloom in spite of the cold. I understand crocuses. I am a crocus. I am pushing up through cold ground toward something I can feel but can't see yet.
This week at school: pharmacology midterm. Dr. Reeves made it hard on purpose — fifty questions on drug classifications, mechanisms of action, contraindications. I studied until my eyes burned and my brain felt like an overstuffed suitcase. Result: 91. Not my best, but an A, and Dr. Reeves said, "That's a solid score, Ms. Mitchell." Solid. I'll take solid. Solid is the foundation you build things on.
Chloe has been asking about college. She's FOUR. But she hears me talk about school, sees me studying, watches me put on my white coat, and she said, "Mama, when I go to college, can I go to YOUR college?" I said, "You can go to any college you want, baby." She said, "But I want to go to yours." My heart. My whole entire heart. I'm going to community college so my daughter can go to any college. And she wants mine. There's a poetry in that I can't articulate but I feel in my bones.
Jayden is in full birthday-anticipation mode, which at twenty-three months means he doesn't know what a birthday is but he knows something is happening because I keep blowing up balloons and he keeps popping them. We have gone through eleven balloons. We have seven more. It is a war of attrition between a mother's party planning and a toddler's destructive instincts. The toddler is winning.
Wanda called to ask what to get Jayden for his birthday. She's a good grandmother — consistent, present, more reliable than her son by a factor of a thousand. I told her he likes balls (any kind), books (to eat), and anything orange. She said, "He sounds like Marcus at that age." I didn't respond to that. Some comparisons are better left unacknowledged. Jayden is Jayden. He will be whoever he becomes. The Marcus comparison stops here.
I made a birthday-practice cake this week — a test run of the cake I'm making for Jayden's party. Yellow cake from a box, chocolate frosting from a can, decorated with Smarties on top because Jayden will lose his mind over the colors. The practice cake was lopsided. Lorraine's cakes were always lopsided. Earline's cakes were probably lopsided. Lopsided cakes are a Mitchell family tradition, and I am continuing the legacy with pride. And Smarties.
The practice cake was more about the ritual than the recipe — something easy, something forgiving, something Jayden could actually eat without me worrying about every ingredient. So this week’s recipe isn’t the yellow box cake (that one’s staying in the family vault), but the little microwave banana oat cakes I’ve been making him for months — fast enough for a tired mom, sweet enough for a toddler who likes anything orange, and lopsided in spirit if not in shape. Here’s how I make them.
Biggie Microwave Banana Oat Cakes (The Lopsided Birthday Tradition)
Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 3 minutes | Total Time: 8 minutes | Servings: 2–4
Ingredients
- 1 ripe banana, mashed
- 1/2 cup rolled oats (quick oats work best)
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons milk (any kind)
- 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 2–3 tablespoons canned chocolate frosting (for topping)
- Smarties candies, for decorating
Instructions
- Mash and mix. In a microwave-safe mug or small bowl, mash the banana thoroughly with a fork. Add the egg, milk, honey, and vanilla extract and stir to combine.
- Add dry ingredients. Stir in the oats, baking powder, and salt until a thick batter forms. It will look a little rough — that’s fine. Lopsided is the point.
- Microwave. Microwave on high for 2 to 3 minutes, checking at the 2-minute mark. The cake is done when the center is set and the top no longer looks wet. Every microwave runs a little differently, so watch it closely.
- Cool briefly. Let it rest for 1 minute. It will be hot. Toddlers are impatient but burns are real.
- Frost and decorate. Spread a generous spoonful of canned chocolate frosting over the top. Press Smarties into the frosting in whatever pattern feels right. There is no wrong pattern. There is only joy.
- Serve. Present to the birthday toddler with balloons if any survive. Sing loudly. Accept that the cake may tip slightly to one side. That’s the tradition.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 210 | Protein: 5g | Fat: 5g | Carbs: 36g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 115mg