Communication Skills Memories: Childhood Birthdays

Communication Skills Memories: Childhood Birthdays Birthdays mark the passing of the years but when you are young, they mean so much more. Only children look forward to birthdays with the anticipation of being nine so much that they proudly note that they are eight and a half, rather than only eight. No one, after all, says that they are twenty and a half, no matter how much they might anticipate the fully-fledged privileges of adulthood.

When a child is very young, every year seems full of potential and possibility, and every birthday holds the prospect of being king or queen for a day. The morning of her ninth birthday was quiet and clear, but she could feel the hum of anticipation downstairs. The smell of vanilla and egg and butter which would surge and cumulate into a perfect stack of pancakes on the birthday girl's plate wafted up from below.

The hours of hanging balloons and streamers around the house had already been finished last night. Red, white, green, blue, yellow, she helped her mother blow the colorful spheres and stagger them along the strips of hung crepe paper, all around the yard and house. The year before the family had celebrated the girl's birthday at a restaurant, but this year was a birthday at home, featuring races organized her father.

It was a field day-themed party, and as soon as everyone arrived, everyone was given a red or blue t-shirt to decorate. The girls, whom the birthday girl knew from school or from around the block, emblazoned the t-shirt with words like: 'the blue team rules' and 'we're number one.' Some of the girls wrote "Happy Birthday" on the t-shirt, in honor of the occasion. The races commenced. Relay races, a three legged race, with two girls' legs tied together.

Pillow case races, crab-legged races with the girls crawling on all fours across the lawn. When everyone was panting and tired, the scores were added up, and it turned out the blue team had more victors on its side. The members of the blue team were given plastic gold medals and a choice of birthday prizes from a table of small wrapped gifts: pens and pencils, stuffed animals and colorful erasers in the pale, pastel colors of girlhood.

This was followed by cries of "I'll trade you," and oohs and aahs over who had chosen 'the best ones.' Members of the red team received a consolation choice of prizes. Then it was time to eat. Everyone was so hot and tired from running around, yet everyone was hungry. Great steaming vats of ground beef and spiced chicken emerged from the kitchen, along with crackly yellow tacos and papery pale quesadillas.

The girls squealed as they shoveled the spitting hot meat onto the flat savory disks, heaped with cooling avocado, tomato, lettuce and cheese to calm down the rush of spices.

"Don't eat too fast or you'll get sick." There was much talking, giggling, and speculation about what teachers would be mean and what teachers would be nice next year as everyone ate from the Garfield-themed plates, and there was a basket of favors of little blow toys that whistled as you tooted the horn, as well as small paper party hats that some of the girls put on. The birthday girl held back a little, proud that she was responsible for creating so much happiness. Then the presents.

Accessories for dolls, like a fuzzy dog.