The Calm in the Craft
Today, I set up a wedding cake. I haven’t been doing much of that for a while. The blessing called Amaka has held the fort for me at the bake shop for a couple of years now.
Every once in a while I get a day or two off work, and when there’s some baking to be done, Amaka almost always goes; ‘Aha, ma, you will work today. e don tey wei you work’.
I was off work on Thursday and Friday, so I worked on a wedding cake at the bake shop… And so today we set up at the venue.
There’s something about the final moments, the precision, the little adjustments, the way everything comes together… it feels deeply satisfying. Standing back to look at it, I felt it again: this is something I love…
…But alongside that feeling came another truth, just as clear… I am not ready to fully step into the hustle of it… Again.
I had to sit with that thought…Because we often tell ourselves that if we love something, we should go all in. Turn it into a business. Scale it. Push it. Monetize it. Build something big out of it.
But what if love doesn’t always need pressure to prove itself?
Baking, for me, is more than a skill or a side hustle. It is a soft place. A quiet rhythm. Measuring, mixing, watching something rise, layering, coating and frosting… it settles me. It brings me back to myself in a way very few things do.
I’ve come to realize something important: There is a difference between loving a part of something and wanting to carry the full weight of it… I love the setup, the artistry and the moment where everything comes together beautifully.
But the constant demand? The deadlines, the pressure, the expectation to always be “on”? That part feels heavy. I’ve done that full time and I’ve done it part time. I think I am more at peace with the part time.
And I am not ready to trade my all of my calm for that. So maybe the answer isn’t “all in” or “not at all.” Maybe it looks like this:
Choosing baking as my soft space first, and a business second.
Taking on only what excites me.
Saying yes slowly, intentionally.
Letting it grow gently, without force.
I don’t have to turn my passion into nonstop chase, I can choose to create at my own pace and become the kind of baker people are happy to wait for…
Because the truth is, I don’t want to lose the part of baking that heals me just to gain the part that pays me.
That feeling I had today… setting up that cake… it wasn’t a push to do more… It was a reminder of what matters.
I can hold both.
The calm… and the craft.
#baking #cakeDecorating