The Eating of the Cake

One of the great stories of our water polo season this year was the Cake Incident. Why capitalize it? Well, because it was that big of a deal. It all began as simple preparation for an away game. Myself and the girls were dutifully waiting for our bus on the pool deck when one of my boy swimmers shows up. He had a massive cake with him that was made to show trench warfare during WWI. I told him that he did a nice job, and he asked me where he could get rid of it. I told him to take it to buildings and grounds to get rid of it and he asked if he could just leave it there on the pool deck. Now, I should mention that the girls were very excited about the prospect of eating said cake. However, since we were getting ready to leave, I did not want them to go nuts on the cake, so I told them no cake.

Well, I made the mistake of leaving the pool deck to see if our bus had arrived without making sure the cake was indeed gone. When I came back, not only was the cake sitting on the pool deck, it was in a box, but the girls were on their hands and knees digging into the the thing, literally. Even though there were some forks, my well mannered lady water polo players were on their hands and knees digging into the cake with no utensils. Needless to say, I was not pleased.

Now if the girls were to tell this story, they would paint the picture of a fire breathing monster who went into a rage when I saw what was going on, but my response was slightly more measured than that, slightly. I won't lie, I was pretty pissed. Not only had the swimmer defied what I said, but the girls did to. When I came back in, I politely asked that they disengage themselves from the cake and kindly retrieve the person who had left it there. My tone might have been a little harsh and my voice elevated. But what really got me mad was the response by one of the girls who shouted out, "We'll stop eating this cake when you stop drinking pop!"

This sent me over the edge. Now I am not really a yeller, but I was yelling that day. I couldn't believe the audacity of that player to actually said what she said. On top of that, the girls were acting as if they had never eaten before and in their frenzy, made a complete mess of the deck. There was chocolate frosting everywhere and I was not a happy camper. Our pool deck is not a cafeteria and I did not like the fact that it was being treated as one. Well, eventually the cake was cleaned up and the girls were rather contrite after seeing my reaction. However, the story does not end there.

If my girls are known for one thing, it is ordering t-shirts, and this year was no exception. Last year's shirts were Battlestar Galactica themed, and this years shirt was designed around the Cake Incident. I had no idea what they were going to propose until they showed it to me. I have the final say, because it needs to be appropriate above all other things, but when the unveiled it, I had to laugh. On the back of the shirt is the quote, "Let Them Eat Cake." This shirt was so damn clever, I had to allow it, even if it was making fun of me. It showed the girls that I cannot be serious all the time, nor should I be. Plus, it is hysterical. So, if you ever see me wearing that shirt, this is the story behind it.