WOW. I am impressed with all the kind words from strangers 
Thank you so much for the uplifting comments.
I've decided to take everyone's advice and stick with it.
The comments helped, but I received a phone call from someone who was very encouraging to me.
When I finish my first real cake I'll post a picture and then we'll see how bad/good I am from the comments.
Thanks again to all. Especially the person who called. 
I support Lisa's comments, I don't enjoy decorating, but I'm a great baker. And I turn out some handsome desserts. Most people don't know you are supposed have perfectly smooth frosting before you start adding the extras. Take bit of time to do a sorta smooth job and call that good. Either you will get better with time or you won't and it really doesn't matter if you don't.
What does matter is that you enjoy what you are doing. If you are going to disolve into tears over a stupid cake, put down that spatula and get out of the kitchen. If your tears are because you miss your Dad, that's a whole new ball game. Bottom line, find your own specialty. I like creating new stuff, if like the peanut butter filling for cupcakes that I thought I would whip out over the weekend. I have a bowl of peanut butter mud instead. No tears over that, just a- well duh! that didn't work- and back to the drawing board.
daisygurl,
Don't be discouraged! I have to have my husband get me out of a jam when I bake cook or whatever. He also is a computer consultant and he keeps me in line when I am stressing!!!!
Besides, it is not so bad having your man help you, it gives you quality time together and a sense of accomplishment that you can still work together.
I always help my husband when we do home remodeling or auto maintenance and he helps me with the housework, cooking, laundry, etc. Come to think of it he probably does more than I do. What a great man I have!!!
Keep going to your classes and it will become easier for you, I promise.
Decorating is not in DNA so don't be discouraged. 
Your dad is always with you, I believe you can ask him to help. First and foremost in this kind of hobby is taste! You can practice on crappy cakes but eventually when you eat them, you want them to taste good, especially to others. You have that down pat already. Keep up with the classes and experimenting and practice, practice, practice. It comes fast for some and not-so-fast for others. Try different things and techniques, recipes.....you'll find what you want to do, what you have a knack for and with recipes, I halve them and experiment that way so I don't have waste. Good luck and post pics!
Don't you worry at all! I made an attempt at cake decorating years and years ago and was like you, just couldn't get it. Couldn't ice a cake smooth to save my life, etc. I have decided to give it another try because I really do enjoy it. I have gotten better, but still need lots of practice! As far as the creativity...I don't have much of that at all. I'm very artistic and can work in several mediums, but have very little creativity, go figure. I have found the gallery section in this site a godsend in getting the creative juices flowing. There are so many great ideas here and so many people to bounce your ideas off of.
Keep your chin up, keep practicing, and you'll get it.
I know how you feel though, sometimes I think I'll NEVER get it!!!
I'm sorry that you feel like this.I don't have a creative or artistic bone in my body but with practice I hope to get better.The way make cakes look its even surpising that my family wants to eat them but then again its the taste that matters.Practice makes perfect not ganes.Keep practing trust me you'll definetely get better.Good Luck and don't give up....
I'm repeating mostly everyone here when I say keep at it and don't give up. Practice makes perfect.
I just recently started decorating myself and have had so many little problems along the way with everything from getting Royal Icing consistency wrong to my cakes sticking to the pan. (As you can see from my posts.) You learn from your mistakes and a place like CC allows you to learn from experienced cake decorators what you might be doing wrong.
I imagine that I will always have little problems for as long as I continue decorating.
I just keep at it anyway because whether or not I'm ever any good at cake decorating, I enjoy it, and that's what really counts! It's only worth doing if you're having fun.
We all have to start somewhere..NO one in my family can do cakes besides myself. They all have ZERO talent in that area...Sometimes it does not have to be genetic. When I first started having interest in cakes, w/c is like 18 years ago, I could not do a thing. It's because I didn't know how to. I kept practicing and experimenting...now, even with what I can do, I still thrive for more knowledge and do the things I have not done...
You will get there !! don't let anything let you down. 
I'm so sorry you are missing your daddy so...it's totally understandable.
Cake decorating is something (at least for me) that needs lots of practice. Most families don't mind eating your "practice cakes" and encourage lots of them. I started decorating cakes as a young teen and now (in my 40's) I have people telling me "Oh, you are sooo creative!"...no, I am no more creative than I was when I started; I've just had lots of practice and made most every mistake you can name. That's what makes us "experts"...making all those goofed up cakes so you know what NOT to do!
As far as icing the cake and making it smooth...what I do is let the icing set a minute after frosting, then take a paper towel, set it on top of the cake, then smooth my hand over it all over the top, then the sides and the wrinkles disappear! You can find paper towels with no pattern on them if you want perfectly smooth (I haven't had as much success with waxed paper, as some bakers use) or you can use the ones with patterns and it makes a kind of embossed look on top which sometimes makes the cake look even better, depending on what your decorations will be. I get so many questions about how I made the cake look "quilted" or how I got those diamond shapes on top, etc. Believe me, it took years before I figured out how to do this properly. You have to be sure to let the frosting set just long enough or it'll stick to the paper towel, and not too long or it won't smooth as well. Just takes practice, but if you can gently touch the side of the cake and not have frosting stick to your finger, it's ready to smooth. Years ago when I first started experimenting with ways to smooth frosting I used wet paper towels and a knife to smooth...it worked great but once I figured out that the wet towels made my icing crack easier, I switched to dry. Works like a charm.
I hope this was a little helpful and I'd be most happy to answer any other questions you have anytime you'd like. I am really no expert, but if there is a mistake to be made...I've made it and so have lots of experience under my belt. Good luck and God bless...please be patient with yourself and remember...Daddy is smiling down on you (eating angel food cake, no doubt ) and watching you get increasingly more like him with each cake!
PS-if this advice is old news I apologize...I haven't read the thread yet, so don't know what you've been told. BTW, your husband sounds like a gem!! Now go have fun experimenting!!
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