On March 13th we celebrated what would have been Mom's 70th birthday. We laughed, reminisced, shared stories, and, of course, we ate cake! As March Madness continues at the bakery, so does the Mom's birthday celebration.
For years Caroline's birthday celebration for the month of March has been shared with our cake community and I love picking up the phone and hearing "I have a March birthday too!" or "My daughter shares a birthday with Caroline and we're celebrating with a Caramel Cake!" It's a powerful reminder of how wonderful the community around Caroline's Cakes is and the traditions that we love being a part of every year.
One of the traditions we started at the bakery after Caroline passed was our balloon ceremony. Each year to celebrate Caroline's birthday Charles, our team, and I write notes to her and place them inside of balloons. After saying a few words, the balloons are released with their messages being sent up to Caroline to read, laugh, and be proud of the work that we are all doing.
This year I introduced this tradition to baby Caroline and naturally Cole helped by supplying a bright yellow ballon for the occasion. Before we released the balloon I whispered a few sweet words to Caroline about her namesake and then we watched as the balloon, carrying our birthday wishes, drifted up, up, and away! Baby Caroline yelled "BooNose!" having not yet mastered the pronunciation of "balloon" and the excited carried on until the balloon became a tiny yellow dot.
I love passing this special tradition down to my daughter and I love sharing stories of her namesake with her. Some of these stories come from my childhood, but so many of them come from all of you. You have been so generous with your memories of Caroline and Caroline's Cakes and your stories are unbelievably appreciated!
There are still a few weeks left in March, so the birthday celebration continues! I hope you all are staying safe and looking forward to beautiful spring weather and our fantastic spring cake flavors.
Eat Cake. Be Happy.
Just ordered the caramel cake! SO excited to find you. So many of the comments are exactly like my story. My mother would have a wonderful “cake lady” make my annual caramel birthday cake. My husband’s mother made his cake herself and it was delicious! Years have gone by and today he is celebrating his 83rd birthday and I so wanted to surprise him with at least a slice, so I bought one from a well known cake place. Well, needless to say, it was such a disappointment. I was not going to give up and that’s when I researched on line and found you! Can’t wait to receive your wonderful cake!
Please find another way to celebrate your lovely other. Sending balloons into the air eventually contributes to pollution and damage to our land and water. Animals are at much risk from balloon debris. Your mother’s life was one of celebration and contribution. I hope you can find a way going forward to share your joy without the environmental impact. When you know better, you can choose to do better.
I just purchased a cake a few minutes ago as a result of seeing article in Southern Lady Magazine. So excited! My family was a neighbor of Caroline’s in Lake City. I was Wanda Wood. My mother taught Caroline Latin in middle school. Smith was in my grade.😁
I will never forget your mother, Richard, and her warm smile and friendly face at every WFS event. Bringing one of her caramel cakes to our first WFS-EHS Tailgate in the fall of 1996 was such a treat. When she asked me what she could bring, I said “anything you would like!” How did she know caramel cake was my favorite? After I tasted her delicious 7 layer cake, I never made another caramel cake!!! Happy Birthday, dear Caroline❤️
I will never forget your mother, Richard, and her warm smile and friendly face at every WFS event. Bringing one of her caramel cakes to our first WFS-EHS Tailgate in the fall of 1996 was such a treat. When she asked me what she could bring, I said “anything you would like!” How did she know caramel cake was my favorite? After I tasted her delicious 7 layer cake, I never made another caramel cake!!! Happy Birthday, dear Caroline❤️