When I was growing up, we were always rewarded with sweets. “Finish your dinner and you’ll get dessert.” Sometimes only the thought of homemade brownies or bread pudding would help get me through the lima beans or the liver. We didn’t have a dog you could pass undesirable food off to in a napkin. When we got home from school, we got a “snack.” Usually chocolate, cakey, always sweet. Apples and bananas didn’t count. And with six kids, my mother would have had a riot on her hands if she tried it. Birthdays, graduations, weddings. What’s a celebration without cake? Without sweets? In my last job, on your birthday, everyone in the department would park goodies at your desk: brownies, cookies, cupcakes. Everyone would visit all day and enjoy the feast. But you had it at your desk all day. Let’s just say no one ever took their birthday...
