Birthdays Past
Standing by my contention that birthdays are for people under 30...I do still reminisce about the many happy birthdays past. My quintessential birthday involved a cake fashioned in to a boat. Lifesaver life rings, two decks and bathtub boats as presents I guess it was my first "theme" birthday. Sharing a birthday week with my brother, often the celebration was combined, but just as often I had a cake and celebration dedicated to me.
A late August birthday during school years was a reminder that very soon I was going to be walking to school and sitting behind a desk. Oh the dread. As a kid who played with his toys very hard, it barely gave me time to break all the new gifts. Although I did consider it a better alternative to going to school on my birthday. That would have been torture.
One birthday my Grandparents took me to have fried chicken at a cafe in Lloyd Center and shopping. I remember getting the coolest toy car ever; a 1962 Thunderbird. It was white with an operating hood and wheels, soon becoming my favorite toy.
I seem to remember a toy box in the basement that mainly held stuffed animals and blankets. I think my favorite game was throwing all the toys out and climbing in.
I guess the next most significant birthday was my sixteenth, when hormones and cars ruled every thought. I seem to remember riding my bike to the DMV to meet my mom who must have been full of dread that day. Having passed the driving test with a less than stellar 80% I could literally taste the new found freedom of wheels. I think mom even bought me a tank of gas. The price of freedom soon became clear when I gave an entire two week paycheck over for a new set of brakes.
Of course my 21st birthday was celebrated at midnight. At 7-Eleven. Buying beer. Legally for the first time. But these birthdays soon became much less significant and when the boys were born I remembered through their eyes my parents being less enthused about their birthdays than I was. Socks, ties, sweaters all lovingly bought, and graciously received. But nothing compares to the intense anticipation of those early birthdays.
And continuing to keep count after fifty seems to be just cruel. I'm happy to be... 47 let's say for the rest of my life. So thank you for the birthday greetings, but remember! We are not counting forward, just moving there, like it or not.
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| Steve and Dave and the "Train Diorama Cake" |
One birthday my Grandparents took me to have fried chicken at a cafe in Lloyd Center and shopping. I remember getting the coolest toy car ever; a 1962 Thunderbird. It was white with an operating hood and wheels, soon becoming my favorite toy.
I seem to remember a toy box in the basement that mainly held stuffed animals and blankets. I think my favorite game was throwing all the toys out and climbing in.
I guess the next most significant birthday was my sixteenth, when hormones and cars ruled every thought. I seem to remember riding my bike to the DMV to meet my mom who must have been full of dread that day. Having passed the driving test with a less than stellar 80% I could literally taste the new found freedom of wheels. I think mom even bought me a tank of gas. The price of freedom soon became clear when I gave an entire two week paycheck over for a new set of brakes.
Of course my 21st birthday was celebrated at midnight. At 7-Eleven. Buying beer. Legally for the first time. But these birthdays soon became much less significant and when the boys were born I remembered through their eyes my parents being less enthused about their birthdays than I was. Socks, ties, sweaters all lovingly bought, and graciously received. But nothing compares to the intense anticipation of those early birthdays.
And continuing to keep count after fifty seems to be just cruel. I'm happy to be... 47 let's say for the rest of my life. So thank you for the birthday greetings, but remember! We are not counting forward, just moving there, like it or not.
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