Water slides, a giant rat we call Chucky, ice-cream, cake, loads of presents, friends, family, candles, and sometimes paper hats with cheap elastics. This was the standard for birthdays growing up in my house. Birthdays are kind of a big deal, marking each year that you have been present, breaking each moment down in relation to the days you have been alive. Mile stones, alters, anniversaries they are important to us, they define who we are, where we have been and where we are going.
This past tuesday we arrived to the park with kids playing with our volunteers, moms talking to some of our staff, and i got the dogs cooking as soon as Ash and Robyn returned with a new bottle of propane. One of the girls that we hang out with was turning 13, so immediately Ash and Robyn returned back to their car to fetch a cake. When the were gone i was talking to the birthday girls little brother, who said in a saddened voice “it was my birthday yesterday.”
i asked “how old are ya now?”
he replied, “nine”
“what did ya do? did you get cake? any presents? do anything fun?”
“No, we didn’t do anything, we don’t have enough money to do anything special”
Where was Chucky and his cheese? Where were the party hats, the balloons, the friends, the presents? No cake? The disappointment in his voice made me half mad, while the other half of me broke down. Who would have thought that not having a birthday would feel like such an injustice?
The girls arrived back with two cakes, one marble one vanilla. We lit the candles, had a brother and sister make their wishes while 25 of us sang happy birthday at the top of our lungs, the smoke from the candles lingered as did the smiles from everyone that was present. I don’t know if this could make up for the previous day with no cake or presents but it was full of joy non the lease.
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