Monday, May 14, 2012

Enemy of Good Enough

My daughter loves desserts, especially ones that she gets to look forward all day. One of her absolute favorites is fudge brownies covered with chocolate icing. Recently I decided to bake up a batch for her to enjoy, and along the way I was reminded of an important lesson, better is the enemy of good enough.

I knew that my daughter had a brownie mix that she preferred over others, but as I was trying to prepare a special treat for her, I decided to purchase another brand. Instead of one that came with its own icing packet, I also purchased a separate container of chocolate icing. I figured that way I could put a bit more on. If a little bit of icing is good, a lot of icing must surely be better. So, as we started off on our day, I told my daughter that we would be having brownies for our dessert after supper. This brought an expectant smile to her face. Later in the afternoon as I finished spreading on the icing, I took a step back to look upon my creation. I was certain that I had cooked up a winner.

When dessert time came, I cut my daughter her brownie square and placed it before her. She dove in and popped a big chunk into her mouth. Before I could even ask her what she thought, she set her fork down and looked at me with the saddest expression, big doleful puppy eyes. "Daddy, these aren't my normal brownies." I took a bite so that I could tell her that they were just fine, but she was right. Instead of moist and fudgy, this was drier and more cake-like. Furthermore, the icing did not really go well with it. Very quietly she said to herself, "I was so looking forward to this." The little spark in her eyes that is normally so bright had gone out. It was then that I remembered (again), better is the enemy of good enough. I quickly suggested that we run up to the grocery store and try again. Just about an hour later all was right and good in her world again as she licked her plate clean.