I suggested Mom make a cheesecake for Cate’s 57th birthday. Cate used to ask for cheesecake on her birthday. I remember this mostly because one year, for some reason, it didn’t get cooked enough. This made the cheesecake mushy in the center, which wasn’t the end of the world to me. I didn’t know much about cheesecake. However, I remember Mom’s disappointment. She was so disappointed in herself! I do that to myself, too. Then my children tell me, “Mama, it’s okay. It’s okay.”

Unlike the cheesecake of the distant past, the cheesecake of 2024 was perfect.

Here, Mom mixes the perfect cheesecake batter.

Dad keeps her company to the best of his ability.

We called Cate on the phone and ate half the cake on the 9th, as we had to leave on the 10th.

(We ate the rest, just the four of us, in the car the next day, and while the cheesecake was definitely better, it was a bit much.)