Saturday, January 31, 2009

Turning Five


I was unsuccessful at turning five. My mom had a strange notion of not letting us have birthday parties as kids. She didn’t want us to get all the gifts and attention–she thought that would spoil us–for good. But when you are a toddler, there are few things that are important in your life. Getting a dog, the bigger dessert, and birthday parties, none of which I got. Now, I do not want you to pity me. I turned out fine, didn’t I? I had a great childhood. I didn’t get a dog because we lived in a rental house until I was 15, at which time, we did get a dog. I didn’t get the bigger dessert, because I had a smarter older brother. We would share a pastry with custard inside. He would squeeze all the custard to one side and cut the pastry in two, making the side with all the custard slightly smaller. Then he would play the ‘good brother’ card and let me choose which one I wanted. Of course I would choose the bigger piece only to be disappointed. Now, about the birthday party, after begging for a party for weeks and all the empty promises and bargains of clean rooms and extra chores, mom still would not budge. So, I decided to take the matter into my own hands and invited one friend to my ‘party’. I guess only one friend meant that I was still afraid of facing my mother’s wrath… I had about a week to convince my mom, which obviously did not work. On my birthday, the doorbell rang. My mom opened the door to find the party guest. I heard her calling my name. I knew I was in a huge trouble. So, I hung my head and walked to the door. I saw the gift. I grinned. After some harsh words and embarrassment, I got the gift. Exactly what I asked for. Silently, I grinned again .

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