Is today my birthday?
Mar. 27th, 2010 12:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pbrayThanks for all the good wishes. Yesterday's birthday was indeed perfect. I'm not one for big celebrations--in my family birthdays were for children, and as you hit your teenage years the importance was diminished.
But there was a time in my life when having a birthday was the most important thing ever.
Once upon a time there was a small child. Old enough to see that her siblings and cousins were celebrating their birthdays, but not old enough to remember her own. Every morning she would wake up and ask her mother "Is today my birthday?"
"No," her mother would say.
"YOU LOST MY BIRTHDAY!" the child would scream.
This went on for days. Weeks. Occasionally the child would vary her refrain. "You lost my birthday because you hate me!" was now added to the complaints over the unfairness of a universe that involved mandatory naps, frequent combing of the tangles in her long blonde hair and a limit on the number of chocolate chip cookies that could be consumed in a single sitting.
The mother consulted with her sisters and with her own mother. Some suggested that she should simply pick a day to be the child's birthday, because at that age, the child would never know the difference. Others were firm, holding out that any celebration must wait for the actual birthday week.
Finally the great day approached. A countdown calendar was created. The mother, with the help of her family, made sure it was the most special of birthdays, one that the child could never forget.
On that morning, as the question was asked, the mother was finally able to answer "Yes, today is your birthday."
The child basked in the attention, not to mention the unlimited supply of cake.
Then, as family legend has it, the very next day she woke up and asked "Is today my birthday?"
The mother's response is mercifully lost in the mists of time.
But there was a time in my life when having a birthday was the most important thing ever.
Once upon a time there was a small child. Old enough to see that her siblings and cousins were celebrating their birthdays, but not old enough to remember her own. Every morning she would wake up and ask her mother "Is today my birthday?"
"No," her mother would say.
"YOU LOST MY BIRTHDAY!" the child would scream.
This went on for days. Weeks. Occasionally the child would vary her refrain. "You lost my birthday because you hate me!" was now added to the complaints over the unfairness of a universe that involved mandatory naps, frequent combing of the tangles in her long blonde hair and a limit on the number of chocolate chip cookies that could be consumed in a single sitting.
The mother consulted with her sisters and with her own mother. Some suggested that she should simply pick a day to be the child's birthday, because at that age, the child would never know the difference. Others were firm, holding out that any celebration must wait for the actual birthday week.
Finally the great day approached. A countdown calendar was created. The mother, with the help of her family, made sure it was the most special of birthdays, one that the child could never forget.
On that morning, as the question was asked, the mother was finally able to answer "Yes, today is your birthday."
The child basked in the attention, not to mention the unlimited supply of cake.
Then, as family legend has it, the very next day she woke up and asked "Is today my birthday?"
The mother's response is mercifully lost in the mists of time.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-27 06:04 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-27 11:19 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-27 06:23 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-27 11:19 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-27 11:26 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-27 11:20 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-27 08:34 pm (UTC)Here are some cupcakes for the little girl and her long-suffering mom ;^)
(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-27 11:22 pm (UTC)