My best friend, Kathy, and I met up for lunch at a restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia. We were digging into dessert, big slabs of cake, when she suddenly put down her fork. \u201cThis is so bland,\u201d she said, pushing her plate away. \u201cWhy is it so hard to find a piece of good ol\u2019 fashioned carrot cake?\u201d<\/p>\n
I never knew Kathy liked carrot cake!<\/em> I thought. It\u2019s been way too long. We really need to catch up.<\/p>\n It had been 13 years since Kathy and I first met when we were teenagers at church camp. We bonded instantly. Over the years we both moved around the country, never landing in the same town. We managed to stay close though\u2014tying up the phones and sending cards and letters like crazy.<\/p>\n Now we were both living in Georgia, less than two hours\u2019 drive from each other, and I recognized a perfect opportunity. \u201cYou know, Kathy, I make a pretty mean carrot cake,\u201d I said. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to try it sometime.\u201d<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been making carrot cake for so long that I can\u2019t even remember how I got my recipe. There\u2019s something about the vegetable-laden cake and smooth cream-cheese icing that I just simply can\u2019t resist.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d love to! To think, I didn\u2019t even know you baked!\u201d she laughed.<\/p>\n A few weekends later I grabbed some ingredients from my pantry and drove over to Kathy\u2019s place. If I wanted her to try carrot cake my way, I thought it would be a nice treat to prepare it in her kitchen.<\/p>\n I peeled, grated and mixed at lightning speed. Once the cooled cake was frosted I cut a big slice and set it down in front of her.<\/p>\n \u201cNow this is a good ol\u2019 fashioned carrot cake,\u201d I exclaimed, waiting for her reaction.<\/p>\n \u201cWow! This is incredible!\u201d she said.<\/p>\n We talked and laughed all weekend like we were teenagers again. Before long, the cake was gone.<\/p>\n \u201cWe should try to get together like this every month,\u201d I told Kathy.<\/p>\n \u201cAt least!\u201d she agreed.<\/p>\n Two years later Kathy\u2019s husband, Marty, got transferred to a job in New Jersey. Not another move<\/em>, I thought. Lord, my best friend and I always seem to be apart. Help us stay close.<\/em><\/p>\n We went back to our regular phone calls and sending letters, but it just wasn\u2019t the same.<\/p>\n One afternoon Marty called. \u201cKathy\u2019s birthday is in a few days,\u201d he said. \u201cI know how much it will mean for her to see you. I\u2019ve already booked your flight.\u201d<\/p>\n That entire weekend Kathy and I were inseparable. The morning of my flight home, I sent Kathy off to work with a big hug. The second the door shut behind her I marched right into her kitchen. I\u2019m sure you can guess what I made!<\/p>\n There was a message on my machine when I got back home. \u201cWhat a treat!\u201d Kathy said. \u201cNo cake will ever measure up to yours. Just like our friendship, it\u2019s one of a kind.\u201d<\/p>\n Over the years that carrot cake has had a funny way of keeping us close. Like the time Kathy and I were living on different coasts and met up for a girls\u2019 trip to Florida. After a long flight and a few snags checking into our hotel, we couldn\u2019t wait to unpack and relax in our room.<\/p>\n I unzipped my suitcase. \u201cYou didn\u2019t!\u201d Kathy shouted when I pulled out a container of my carrot-cake cupcakes.<\/p>\n Kathy isn\u2019t the only person who likes my carrot cake. When I was planning my wedding five years ago, as you might imagine, my husband, Rob, and I chose a carrot wedding cake. And of course, there was no one better to serve the cake to our guests than my best friend, Kathy, and her husband.<\/p>\n When I asked God to keep Kathy and me close, did I ever imagine that a simple carrot cake was part of his plan? Never. But I thank him every day for it.<\/p>\n Today Kathy and I are going on 33 years of friendship. There\u2019s nothing\u2014not even a delicious carrot cake\u2014that\u2019s sweeter than that.<\/p>\n