hey! i’m icy.
When you have a name like Icy, one of the first questions you get when you meet someone new is, “How did you ever get a name like that?”
For years, I tried to come up with something witty and brilliant but to no avail. The truth is my sister Carroll couldn’t say Allison when I was born, so she called me Icy Baby (not to be confused with Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby”). I got the better of her mispronunciations, as she called herself “Dadu Hadie”. When I could walk and talk, we dropped the “Baby” and it’s been just plain Icy ever since.
And there to the left is just plain Icy, on my first birthday, dipping in, gracefully.
I have always loved cake, but the icing has always been my favorite part. Some things never change.
Growing up, my best friend and I spent hours hovered over the stove with a manual beater making 7-minute frosting and then enjoying sticky sweet spoonfuls directly from the double boiler. Who needs cake?
When I turned thirty, another friend made me a cake that consisted of half cake and half frosting. And still another friend quietly slides her dessert plate over to me when she has finished, to share with me that which is too rich for her own taste but just perfect for me; the icing.
What does that have to do with this site? Stay with me.
The opportunity to write a column for a local paper presented itself a few years ago.
I questioned the request. I didn’t know how to write. What would I say?
My life was full.
My kids were great, but demanding. My husband was great, but demanding. I was involved with a few schools and a few nonprofits and played a sport, a little competitively. I was blessed with a wonderful and supportive group of friends and my bedside table was stacked with a pile of books I was anxious to read.
I was happy.
Life was good.
And then I said yes.
And something unexpected happened.
I found that by sharing my story, honestly - and not all at once, but in small bites - I was able to connect with you, with my community.
And in turn, you shared your story with me.
And I was honored to listen.
I found that by dipping in, sometimes gracefully and sometimes not, I was able to discover connection that I otherwise would have missed.
And I have found that connection to be The Icing on the Cake.