Gives Us Chocolate Cake

4:00 am - For some unknown reason a loud and annoying beep rings next to my head. Surely this is a joke. Is my alarm going off as a joke I wonder fuzzily?

4:06 am - I gather enough wits to realize that it is not a joke. It is April Fool's Day.

4:14 am - Working quietly, so as not to wake the dog, I find the eggs, oil, and cake mix. While combining them in a bowl, I realize that fishing small parts of shell at an early hour is not easy. I wonder why fishermen get up early.

4:23 am - Chocolate cake goes into the oven. I consider enjoying the batter; I remember it has raw eggs. In honor of the start of the baseball season yesterday, I proclaim batter up to the spatula.

4:52 am - Cake is almost done. I'm racing the oven timer to finish this post. While it may seem odd that I'm up so early to bake a cake today, it is not. It is a ritual. Long before I had children, I heard a comedy routine from Bill Cosby and in it, his kids sang and danced because "Dad is Great! Gives Us Chocolate Cake!" I knew right then that I was going to do that for my kids. Eventually, this became an annual breakfast offering at my house.

4:59 am - Waiting for the cake to cool before frosting. Feeling like a great Dad. In just an hour my boys will be up, smell the cake, and will remember April Fool's Days across the years. Then, in Cosby fashion, they will sing and dance. I love that part!