When I was a young mom I took a series of cake decorating classes. I wanted to know how to make cute, unique cakes for my kids' birthdays. It was fun learning to make my own icing and create roses and fancy designs. I spent hours working on what, in many ways, were art pieces. My favorite that I ever made was an aquarium cake. Imagine seaweed made from green fruit leather. You get the idea. It was a lot of work, but I loved the process. I don't have as much time for things like that anymore, but I still love cake. The frosting is where the magic happens in my opinion. Corner piece for me please!!
Isn't it just the worst though when the icing is spread too thin? First of all it's hard to use, and crumbs come through when you try to work with it. Much of the sweetness is lost, and there are many cool designs that simply can't be done without enough frosting. It's so disappointing to cut into what looks like a beautiful, scrumptious cake and realize that the icing is so sparse you can barely taste it. It almost feels like you've been tricked. Don't skimp on the icing folks.
I've noticed that the same holds true for my life when my schedule gets too packed and I myself am spread too thin. Too Busy. Too Stressed. Too Overworked and Too Overwhelmed. It just doesn't go well.
When I go in too many directions it's hard to ever actually arrive anywhere worthwhile. I end up with only crumbs to offer in many areas, rather than more of substance in fewer. And so often the things that make life the sweetest (love, laughter, learning) are the things that get lost in the chaos. I find myself getting behind on the basics, and beauty around me is left unnoticed.
If you only have enough icing for 12 cupcakes, it's no good to try to make it stretch to 24 and have thin, unattractive cupcakes. What's the point of having more if they aren't delicious? We need to carefully consider our schedules too. Make an honest assessment of how many resources we actually have (financial, time, emotional, spiritual, etc) and not push beyond those. If you can find ways to make or find more icing, then by all means make more cupcakes. But until then savor the ones that you can make without spreading yourself too thin. It's just not worth it.