1. An imprisoned pink bunny

2. A frosting chalk outline of a recently departed bear

3. An existential representation of how our nation's current financial crisis is closing in on the simple man.

Though my mother passed away seven years ago, her presence still looms over my life in large and small ways - and sometimes reappears in pictoral wonder like these cake pics I just unearthed this weekend.

Now that I'm a mom, I understand how a mother’s love is expressed in tiny ways that might seem inconsequential at first blush. Things like putting Biz in with the laundry so that white socks stay white; putting fresh veggies on the table; making sure the girls are on time for events; putting lotion on their little legs; getting their haircut just in time for picture day. And dare I say, just ensuring they are clean!! Just looking at this picture of yours truly at age 3, I can see a mother's love via pig-tails. Yes, these are the day-to-day mom tasks most kids will never remember. And these days I'm enjoying looking at pictures for clues to the little loving things my mother did for us that I do not remember.

For example, what generated Runaway Bunny Chalk Outline Cake? And is that a bunny? I'm not sure.