Birthdays
We have had some really nice birthdays over the past few months. Rather than write on each of them I decided to do one posting for all of them. So HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO all of you! All these birthdays have gotten me thinking. What are they all about? Is it about celebrating making it to another year. Having your health or having your family or all those things. An excuse to get together?
I remember the first birthday party I went to. I think I was in the first grade. I went to a friends party. I can't remember if I brought a gift or not. I think I didn't because I recall him getting all these gifts and thinking 2 things. One my family doesn't celebrate birthday parties. Then I thought wow he is opening a lot of gifts and then I began thinking I didn't bring one. Then I began wondering if I was even invited. I wasn't embarrassed though..I didn't know better and couldn't have done better. I think early lessons in life like this really shape who you end up being.
The one birthday I do recall was when I was in the fourth grade. It wasn't like a formal birthday. Where our mom would send out invitations and we would go to some giant water park or perhaps a movie or perhaps a gymnasium. We were living in Pawtucket in a double decker at the time. My next door neighbor Michael who was my friend came over. By coincidence my girlfriend Michelle and I were hanging outside in the driveway. My mom and grandmother were making dinner. We were going to have chicken soup. My family made chicken soup a little different than other families. There was a large tin pan filled with warm water on the grass. All the sudden my grandmother shows up with 2 live chickens and she snaps their necks right in front all of my friends and I. The chickens started jumping up and down after they were dead. Now I bet none of my friends had ever seen anything like that at a birtday party before! It was the best freshest chicken soup I have ever eaten in my life. I got a brand new huffy bike at that birthday. Number 44. It was an early version of BMX bikes. My friend had one and I never thought I would get one. It was perhaps the greatest birthday gift I have ever gotten. The bike took me all over the city.
Years later Michelle and I both had moved to another town. We didn't see each other though until high school. We ended up going out on a date. While on the date she recalled coming to my fourth grade party and recalled my grandmother plucking the feathers from the chicken in the yard. Didn't stop her from going out with me all those years later. It was another life experience to never be embarrassed of who you are.
So back to the question. What are birthdays all about? Is it about making a wish? A wish that for me usually never involves material things, especially lately.
I think birthdays are about Avo singing happy birthday in Portuguese. Not just the first verse but also the second verse. Everyone tries to stop her but she pushes on. It is perhaps one of the best things I enjoy about Birthday parties now. It is hearing her sing and her persistence to not be deterred from singing the song.
Here are some pictures from a recent memorable birthday in Stowe Vermont.
I remember the first birthday party I went to. I think I was in the first grade. I went to a friends party. I can't remember if I brought a gift or not. I think I didn't because I recall him getting all these gifts and thinking 2 things. One my family doesn't celebrate birthday parties. Then I thought wow he is opening a lot of gifts and then I began thinking I didn't bring one. Then I began wondering if I was even invited. I wasn't embarrassed though..I didn't know better and couldn't have done better. I think early lessons in life like this really shape who you end up being.
The one birthday I do recall was when I was in the fourth grade. It wasn't like a formal birthday. Where our mom would send out invitations and we would go to some giant water park or perhaps a movie or perhaps a gymnasium. We were living in Pawtucket in a double decker at the time. My next door neighbor Michael who was my friend came over. By coincidence my girlfriend Michelle and I were hanging outside in the driveway. My mom and grandmother were making dinner. We were going to have chicken soup. My family made chicken soup a little different than other families. There was a large tin pan filled with warm water on the grass. All the sudden my grandmother shows up with 2 live chickens and she snaps their necks right in front all of my friends and I. The chickens started jumping up and down after they were dead. Now I bet none of my friends had ever seen anything like that at a birtday party before! It was the best freshest chicken soup I have ever eaten in my life. I got a brand new huffy bike at that birthday. Number 44. It was an early version of BMX bikes. My friend had one and I never thought I would get one. It was perhaps the greatest birthday gift I have ever gotten. The bike took me all over the city.
Years later Michelle and I both had moved to another town. We didn't see each other though until high school. We ended up going out on a date. While on the date she recalled coming to my fourth grade party and recalled my grandmother plucking the feathers from the chicken in the yard. Didn't stop her from going out with me all those years later. It was another life experience to never be embarrassed of who you are.
So back to the question. What are birthdays all about? Is it about making a wish? A wish that for me usually never involves material things, especially lately.
I think birthdays are about Avo singing happy birthday in Portuguese. Not just the first verse but also the second verse. Everyone tries to stop her but she pushes on. It is perhaps one of the best things I enjoy about Birthday parties now. It is hearing her sing and her persistence to not be deterred from singing the song.
Here are some pictures from a recent memorable birthday in Stowe Vermont.
posted by Carlos at 6:00 PM
1 Comments:
Great Pix
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