In honor of the birthday girl, here’s a look at some of our favorite traditions and memories from birthdays past.
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| Julie on her very first birthday |
First of all, a very happy birthday to Julie on this, her 23rd birthday. So, Happy Birthday, Julie! And as my niece, Elizabeth, would say, “Julie is the best!”
We in the Sisterhood love birthdays. However, we all have different memories and traditions regarding our experience with them. So, after “interviewing” each other, we just wanted to share a few of them with you. And who knows? You might get a great idea from this – or at least a laugh. :-)
What are some birthday traditions that you have as a family, either now or in the past?
Joanne: We have a family birthday party for each of our kids, but it rarely falls on their birthdays. So, on the day of my children’s birthday, they choose the menu for dinner. They also get to wake up to balloons fastened to the back of their chair at the kitchen table, and a birthday greeting written on a paper plate.
Julie: As far back as I can remember, my mom would always let us pick out our favorite meal that she would cook and favorite dessert. It’s funny how over the years that morphed into us picking out our favorite restaurant to go to and favorite Dairy Queen ice-cream cake.
Megan: Since my parents were both teachers, it somehow just worked out better for us to celebrate birthdays in the morning before school – so we would always have a “birthday breakfast.” Mom would make a stack of pancakes, and we’d put the candles on the top one (which, of course, made it inedible, due to large amounts of melted wax on it). I always enjoyed it because it meant we got our presents first thing – no waiting until after supper.
What is your best birthday memory ever?
Jill: When I was in college, my sister Joanne surprised me for my 21st birthday with a "21 package." All of the items had a theme to them: they were green, and there were 21 items in the package. It was neat to see the creativity, thoughtfulness, and love that went into the package.
Sarah: When I was a kid, we got to choose where we’d go out to eat on our birthday, and for some reason, I started liking Japanese steakhouses. How a 10 year old knew to choose something so unique and expensive, I don’t know, but it became a fast favorite of mine for birthday dinners. On my 30th birthday, my husband surprised me with a dinner out with some friends and family. And it was at my all-time favorite place to eat – a Japanese Steakhouse! I sat in front of the cooking entertainment, surrounded by loved ones and holding my 3 week old son and thought, “*sigh* God is good to give these kinds of gifts to us!” My husband then topped off the evening at Cheesecake Factory for more fellowship and a delicious dessert!
Any successful birthday surprises pulled off?
Julie: Why yes, my husband actually just pulled off a surprise for my birthday. We just moved out West, far away from all my family and friends, and so he planned to fly one of my friends out for a few days to surprise me. A few weeks ago, he told me that our pastor had a friend coming into town, but something came up with his family and so he couldn’t make it to the airport. David then volunteered and said to me, “We need to go to the airport now to get Pastor’s friend.” It sounded legitimate, so we went and pulled up to where you pick people up. My husband got out of the car to go find this person, and I just sat in the car waiting and waiting. All of a sudden, I saw what looked like one of my friends – and then I saw David next to her – and I was just in shock! It was by far the best birthday gift and surprise ever.
Are there any particular gifts that stand out in your mind?
Megan: I remember for my 18th birthday getting a “for emergencies only” cell-phone with a grand total of 30 minutes a month on it. I was living the high life at that point.
Joanne: On my 17th birthday, I was given a set of keys to the vehicles our family owned at the time (a big conversion van and an old stick-shift Toyota). I wasn’t all that excited about it, though, because I was scared to death to learn to drive.
Sarah: I got a sporty, 4-door, raspberry-pink 1994 Dodge Shadow for my 16th birthday. That reliable car survived 15 years of 5 long-term drivers (and countless occasional drivers), 3 accidents (2 of which “totaled” the car), 2 hoods, front and back bumper reconstruction, a transmission change, electronic failure of everything but the radio (that included the speedometer and the odometer) and hundreds of thousands of miles (we don’t really know how many hundreds because the speedometer stopped working at 124,389 miles 7 years before it retired). We just this year put “the Razz” to rest in peace. She brought us all many great memories and $200 from our local scrapyard.
Who in your family currently enjoys birthdays the most?
Joanne: Since my four-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, is old enough now to understand the concept that “having a birthday = you’re older; and you’re older = new opportunities, abilities and privileges,” she is crazy about her birthday. Two weeks after her 4th birthday, she began asking daily how many more days it is until she turns 5.
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| Grandma Cecile enjoying a birthday |
Julie: I believe the person who enjoys birthdays the most would be our beautiful and fun-loving Grandma Cecile. She definitely proves that birthdays can be fun for more than just kids. For one thing, if she even sees a present wrapped and knows it’s for her, she’s like a kid in a candy store and can’t wait to open it and will ask if she can open it right at that moment. Also, if you talk to her on the phone on or after her birthday, she loves to tell all about her day and describe everything she did on that day and all the presents she received. Not only does she love her birthday, but she loves giving to others on their birthdays. We all love our grandma and are thankful for her excitement about many things, but especially birthdays!
Is there any birthday wisdom you want to pass along?
Joanne: I have found my birthday to often be a day of spiritual discouragement as I realize how self-centered I really am. I find myself spending the day imagining all the ways I’m going to be honored, since, after all, the people in my life ought to acknowledge how blessed they are to have me in their lives. Then, of course, reality doesn’t measure up to my lofty ideas, and my pride and emotions take a beating. The past couple years on my birthday, I have tried to focus my thoughts on all of the blessings that God has bestowed upon me. It certainly helps to have my thoughts shifted off of myself and onto the abundant goodness of my God.
Great post! a tradition we also had in our (Megan's) home was to only have big birthday celebrations (the ones where you invite friends and have a big party) on special years: 1, 5, 10, and 16. This kept us from having to figure out how to make every year even more special than the year before, kept our kids from expecting extravagance, AND gave our kids something special to look forward to every few years.
ReplyDeleteLove the 21 box. I too grew up with a "friend" party when you turned 8 and 16. Joanne, you need to blog about all the cool cakes you've done for the kiddos. I still drool over them. :)
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