My Birthday....

Tomorrow is my birthday and I'm already excited! I love my birthday! All of my birthdays really! And I know it's cuz my mom and dad always made my birthday a very special day. I remember like yesterday that my mom would ask me EVERY year what I wanted to have for my birthday dinner. Just that she was gonna allow me to have MY favorite dish no matter what anyone else wanted made me feel like I was 10' high. Then my dad would tease her after I would give her my answer and say "we're not having that" or "I'm not eating that" which of course made me feel even more special that I even got to trump my Big Daddy! WOWSA!

All for me! Whatever I want!

Then, on my 12th birthday, I started making my own birthday cakes (hey! I can hear you, you know...) and I made my first character cake (Bugs Bunny) and had to pipe little stars ALL over this cake which, may I say, was not the easiest thing in the world to do. But I did it and we ate it and I loved it.

All for me! Whatever I want!

Then I got presents and I didn't even have to share them with my three sisters! All for me!!

But THE BEST birthday I ever, ever, ever had was when I turned 10. My Nana & Papa had 7 children and from them we have 19 grandchildren. I am the oldest of those 19 grandchildren. And when I turned 10, Nana and Papa picked me up from my house and took me to Brookfield Square Mall to get my ears pierced. While there, they bought me a blue jean wallet w/ two white daisies on the front and my Pa put $2 and 2 cents in my wallet and told me not to ever spend the 2 cents "because then I can never say I didn't have money". They also started to buy me a $50 savings bond every year from that year until I turned 18. Someone pinch me. No don't! It's like the best dream ever! JUST ME and my Nana and Papa -- the other 18 kids weren't even invited.

All for me!!

How can I not love birthdays? My family cherished me so deeply that they made my birthdays filled with memories that have lasted a lifetime...literally!