Now, I know y’all must think I’m crazy, but I have to admit that I just LOVE birthdays, and they do count among my favorite things! Yes, even though I just had one on the 28th of July and I’m now sixty-seven years old, that’s not a bad thing!
I always think about those wonderful birthday parties I had growing up—my mom made the most fabulous chocolate cakes and icing, all from scratch, and of course there was ice cream and punch. We decorated with balloons and streamers, and put on our very best dresses and little anklets and Mary Janes to party in. I’m second from the left, and this was my 8th birthday.
We played Pin the Tail on the Donkey and dropped clothespins in a bottle while standing on a little stool to see how many each one of us could get in the bottle. Winner got a prize! Now, prizes didn’t have to be something fantastic. Back then, everyone was happy with getting a Little Golden Book, or a color book and small box of crayons, or something simple like that.
The party usually lasted from 2-5. Sometimes 2-4 if our parents weren’t feeling particularly stoic that year. But we filled those hours with a LOT of fun and wonderful things to eat. Lots of laughter and good times and great memories.
Of course, as I got older, the parties got more involved. One year I had a costume party—that’s me in the hula skirt.
We started having slumber parties (the bane of a parents’ existence!) and usually managed to stay awake most of the night. I’m sure our parents did, too.
You know, I remember my mom making her special chocolate cake in the jelly-roll pan and the fabulous icing that went on it and rolled up in the center, and seemed like it was an inch deep on the outside. She made the three of us girls, my sisters and me, a good birthday cake on into adulthood when our birthdays rolled around for as long as she was able. That was one of the best gifts of all.
My older sister, Karen, always sends me something on my birthday, as I do for her birthday in February. There’s just something special about remembering the day the people who mean so much to us came into the world.
This year, I got together with my kids and husband and we had dinner at a nice restaurant together. Such a great gift of time together, and of course, no having to cook and clean it up!
I know a lot of people don’t want to think about their birthdays, or admit their age, or realize that they are getting older. But I’ve always been proud to be whatever age I was, because I’d “made it” that far. As a kid, I wanted to be older all the time. Now, I think sometimes it would be nice to be younger, but then I come to my senses. I would not want to travel that road again–there are new things to look forward to and celebrate with every year of birthdays!
Did you have a favorite birthday? What were some of the things you did to celebrate?
