This happened

My daughter is having a "Yay! We're Almost In The Third Grade!" sleepover party. I'm making cupcakes.

I don't bake enough. I'm out of practice.

About an hour before the party, I start mixing the batter. I blend the batter until it is a smooth river of flour, sugar, and butter folding in and out of itself. Watching it blend reminds me of my mother. I recall her telling me to move my face away from the mixing bowl so I don't get splattered. I remember getting splattered.

The batter is almost too thick to pour out of the mixing bowl into the muffin tin, but I pour, using a spatula to guide the batter into the cups.

As I pour, I realize I have not put paper cupcake cups into the pan. So, I glop and scoop and drip the batter out of the muffin tin back into the mixing bowl. I wash and dry the tin. I put the paper cups in place, and with a big soup spoon from the kitchen drawer, I spoon the batter back into the cups.