Another trip around the sun
As a young child, birthdays were everything! It was your day to be celebrated without having to share it with anyone, well, at least in my family it was. I remember one particular birthday of my brother’s, I was sad it wasn’t my celebration, which completely showed in the photos of my older siblings lined up with big smiles on their faces and then mine; standing a foot shorter, looking miserable in my pigtails and tears. I didn’t understand I had to wait three months before it was my turn.
One of the best things about my birthday was not only the presents I’d receive but also the birthday cake I was able to hand-pick. My Mom had this little booklet filled with birthday cake options that came with pictures of the finished cake and diagrams of how to cut the cake to make it look like a bunny, sailboat, horse, cat, dog, etc.…..the list went on and on. This little booklet was like gold amongst us kids, and I can remember scouring it time and time again for the next greatest cake to celebrate me. I’m pretty sure my sister and two brothers felt the same way. My Mom would bake the cakes, my Dad would cut the cakes into the necessary shapes to fit together to make the selected image; then my Mom would frost while my Dad added the decorating touches to make it complete.
Fast forward a decade or so and even though it was still great to celebrate my birthday, I no longer picked my cake from the little booklet, but could choose any flavor and my Mom would make it from scratch. Year after year I always picked the same exact cake. In fact, I can only remember a few times I veered off course and selected another flavor, although I always went back to my original favorite the next year.
The older I get, the less I think about the presents and cake, and the more I think about spending time with friends and family. It’s connections and togetherness that I crave most. Whenever anyone asks what I want for my birthday, I’m always stumped and can’t think of a single thing; it’s their time and togetherness I love.
This month I took another trip around the sun. I was blessed to be able to spend time with friends and family celebrating another year. I’ve been remembering past birthdays and I’m thankful for the wonderful birthday cake memories my Mom and Dad provided for me and my family. How are you celebrating your next trip around the sun? Make each day count.
xoxox…..Sheryl
PS….My favorite cake flavor: white cake with cherry pie-filling frosting. I’ve never seen it anywhere else other than made from my Mom’s kitchen……all made from scratch. DELISH!
PSS….I reached out to my sister and brothers to ask about their favorite cake and hands down, all three mentioned the cake shapes from the little booklet that Mom and Dad created each birthday.
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